Results 

Results

Earlier this year I went for some psych tests. You see, I am unable to write properly. I write in big, messy, block letters, all capitals. I thought I was dyslexic, so went for tests at Deakin University. Here are some of the bits and pieces:

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Tests Administered:
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ??? Third Edition
Neale Analysis of Reading ??? Third Edition
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test ??? Revised
British Spelling Test Series ??? Level 5

Results from Cognitive Assessment
Adam???s cognitive ability was assessed with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ??? Third Edition (see Appendix A). His Full Scale IQ score was on the 97th percentile which places his performance within the Superior ??? Very Superior range of scores . This means that over the entire test Adam???s score was equal to or greater than 97% of same age peers. There are however, significant variations in scores across the four Index???s that combine to make the Full Scale IQ score.
The Index scores had percentile rankings as follows; Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI = 99.7), Perceptual Organisation Index (POI = 88), Working Memory Index (WMI = 77), and Processing Speed Index (PSI = 47). The most dramatic variation between Index scores are between the VCI and both the WMI and the PSI. This indicates that Adam???s verbal ability (vocabulary, general knowledge, and abstract verbal reasoning) are substantially stronger than his ability to hold information in short term memory and manipulate it, and his ability to process visual information (numbers/symbols). The size of variation observed in Adam???s profile is observed in 2.0% and 0.8% of the population respectively. These differences are observed due to Adam???s Very Superior Verbal Comprehension.

During the administration of the WAIS ??? III, the following was noted:

??? On the Picture Completion tasks errors were made on fine details, yet he managed to answer correctly the more difficult interpretative items.
??? His reproduction of the symbols on the Coding task were a little untidy.
??? He worked very systematically and accurately in the Block Design tasks seeing the whole design and breaking it into the grid to solve each successfully.
??? Two of the four errors made on the Arithmetic tasks were slight and his responses were quick. This suggests his accuracy may be improved should he take more time to check the accuracy of his calculations.
??? Errors on the Picture Arrangement subtest were also observed when answers were given quickly.


Results from Achievement Assessment
Receptive Language
Reading
A sample of Adam???s reading was taken with the Neale analysis of Reading ??? Third Edition (see Appendix A). It was noted that Adam read fluently, accurately, and comprehended well what was read.

Results from the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test ??? Revised (see Appendix A) indicate Adam???s Word Identification (orthographic knowledge), Word Attack (phonetic awareness), Word Comprehension (knowledge of word meanings), and Passage Comprehension (knowledge of syntax to aid comprehension) are all within a High Average to Superior range of ability. Three out of four errors made on the Word Attack subtest were due to pronouncing a silent letter (p, k, g).

Expressive Language
Spelling
Adam???s spelling ability was assessed with the British Spelling Test Series ??? Level 5 (see Appendix A). His score was on the 86th percentile placing it with a High Average range. Three errors were made when writing with capitals, 6 were made when writing in lower case letters.

Written Expression
In ten minutes Adam wrote half a page about the poor quality of water on campus. Vocabulary was extensive, no spelling errors noted, and only one grammatical error observed.

Results from Additional Assessments
On a visual perception questionnaire Adam reported some difficulties when reading. Reading a passage with tinted overlays did not improve his reading accuracy or fluency.

Discrepancy Analysis
Adam???s receptive and expressive language skills fall within the High Average to superior range of ability. This is consistent with his Full Scale IQ score. His literacy skills are however one to two standard deviations below his Verbal Comprehension Index score suggesting Adams written language skills lag behind his verbal language ability. This is likely to result in frustration when attempting to express his thoughts in print. Considering Adam???s entire cognitive profile, it is considered that rather than having a deficit in a cognitive process (resulting in literacy difficulties), he has a giftedness in Verbal Comprehension skills that feel compromised when required to work with print.

Conclusions
Adam is a young man with considerable cognitive ability particularly with regards to his verbal ability (the public face of intelligence). He participated willingly in the assessment although at times it was noted that eye contact was lacking. His schooling was consistent and there are no reported incidents that would compromise his learning ability. Adam???s literacy ability is well above average and consistent with his Full Scale IQ, although substantially lower than his Verbal Comprehension Index score. It is considered that Adam???s reported difficulties are a result of his visual processing of numbers and symbols not being able to match the speed of processing of verbal language that Adam can manage.

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