IQ score distribution

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I chose to post this here instead of General Discussion because General is too active for my tastes- everything gets buried within minutes.

No, this is not another of the "my IQ is higher than yours" threads because frankly I don't give a damn about what specific number is attached.

I took the new WAIS-IV IQ test last Tuesday and got some interesting results. The odd thing about my IQ score was how ridiculously broad the spread between different subscores was- I had 3 standard deviations between my highest and lowest scores. To put that in perspective, 3 S.D.'s is the difference between the typical college graduate and mental retardation. My sensory processing score was abysmal, which explains a lot of the issues I've had and is the basis for some accommodations the psychologist is recommending to the university for me. My verbal score was by far the highest, and the only one that was really exceptional. The psych believes that my sensory processing difficulties were so pronounced in relation to other areas of intelligence that they likely spilled over and negatively impacted a few other subscores that were not intended to measure sensory processing at all. Oddly enough, the subtest that most autistics supposedly do best on (block design) was easily my worst, due in part but certainly not entirely to my poor motor skills. I didn't do very well on digit span either, but I think that had something to do with my auditory processing disorder- if the numbers were flashed on a screen or something instead of being read aloud to me, I suspect I would have done better on that.

This sounds more comprehensive than the original one. Digit span I'd do well in; all those years of piano lessons let me span a 9th, but that's as far as I can get..

It sounds like it's not a web-based test....

No, not web-based, this was actually a legitimate test. (Though I would note that some online tests are not *quite* as bad as you would think)

My problem with digit span is that it was purely verbal- he read out 2, 8, 4, 5, 3, 9 and I had to repeat it backwards. I was trying to create mental pictures of the digits in front of me on the desk to remember them by, since my auditory processing is so terrible.

Some good news though: the MMPI shows that I am not a psychopath. Looks like I fooled it.

Do you know any of these good online tests? I can only find good ones that I have to pay for the results...*grumbles*
I think my IQ was inflated - it's more realistically 110 instead of 125. I'm smart, but not when it comes to word questions.

Here is a test that mimics Raven's Progressive Matrices. I found it to be a decent, conservative estimate, and it is free of cultural bias by being based purely on pattern recognition skill. In fact, the most recent revision of the Wechsler test (which I took) has added a new subsection inspired by Raven's Progressive Matrices.

Has anyone else who's taken an IQ test found similar discrepancies in their scores? I was astounded to see how wide a distribution my subscores made, and the psychologist himself was rather at a loss to explain it. I have heard that this sort of uneven profile of skills tends to be more common among autistics, and the fact that it is possible seems to run counter to the idea of general intelligence.

My IQ profile on the Wechsler's is fairly even (+/-5 points). That's the good thing.

The confusing thing is that on purely pen and paper IQ test, I found that the overall score dropped.

But then, I was pretty much guided through the whole Wechsler's, had a lot of breaks too and actually using my hands and never having to work for more than 30-90 seconds or so was a lot more fun. This preference is atypical for autism, I think.

My processing speed also happened to drop down 70 points to borderline-mild MR from one test to another. I didn't know that was possible.

The professional had no clue. Might have thought I was faking it.

My verbal score was by far the highest, and the only one that was really exceptional. The psych believes that my sensory processing difficulties were so pronounced in relation to other areas of intelligence that they likely spilled over and negatively impacted a few other subscores that were not intended to measure sensory processing at all. Oddly enough, the subtest that most autistics supposedly do best on (block design) was easily my worst, due in part but certainly not entirely to my poor motor skills. I didn't do very well on digit span either, but I think that had something to do with my auditory processing disorder- if the numbers were flashed on a screen or something instead of being read aloud to me, I suspect I would have done better on that.[/quote]

It's not always the case but typically people with HFA do much better on block design and non verbal IQ reasoning than verbal. AS do better on verbal than non verbal. My daughter was assessed and diagnosed with HFA. She has significant difficulty with auditory processing even more than children with LFA, I have been told. However, She scored Very Superior for non-verbal IQ putting her intelligence ahead off 99 percent of all other children her age.
Have you been diagnosed with an ASD or just AS?

Interesting, I had been under the impression that the only current diagnostic difference between HFA and AS was that AS tends to develop speech a bit faster.

My diagnosis is Asperger's, which is considered to be an ASD.

Do you notice any connection between that and your strengths and weaknesses academically?

Yes, actually, I did notice a connection between that and some issues I've had- namely in sensory processing problems, which was my lowest score. Verbal intelligence was highest, and seems to be what gets tested most on the majority of written exams, but outside distractions can make those more difficult. Also, the test results seemed to corroborate my inability to take useful notes.

I was thinking more about specific subjects and how that related to subscores on the test. For example, someone with weak visual-spatial abilities may find organic chemistry wasn't their strongest subject.

I have yet to take organic chemistry, and I sincerely hope you are wrong.

I have found an easier time in humanities-based classes, but I've always assumed that this was because those subjects are considerably easier. I mean, what challenge is there ever in understanding the material presented in a history class?

You might find that as you tackle more advanced education that the areas of weakness identified in the test you took put you at a disadvantage. I think that will apply more to certain engineering and science subjects than humanities if your main strengths are verbal.

*rolls eyes* 102...I get so confused with those pattern things Well, I'm smart, no matter how average a test tells me I am.
Have you guys gotten your results for your written IQs yet?

That's a shame; I'm primarily a math/science student. I've just never really seen the purpose in the humanities when they're so easy. Although, to be honest, my verbal score was probably inflated by my penchant for utterly useless trivia (there actually is a section of the test composed of questions such as "who wrote Alice In Wonderland?" and "what is the circumference of the Earth around the equator?") and my participation in Academic Team/Quiz Bowl gave me a lot of the pointless factual knowledge needed to ace that section.

I wouldn't let that put you off. It's only likely to be specific subjects that are a problem. As long as you're aware it might be an issue you can gradually identify which areas to avoid. Anyway, I assume your lowest scores are still above the population mean.

When I was diagnosed with AS I did try and dig-up information on this, but never found the kind of detail I was looking for. It would be interesting to have the detailed IQ test results for a group of people who were successful in various professions, and who also had the large subscore-spread, and see which professions correlated with which strengths. The only other person, here, I remember posting much about this is Neanthumain, but I think he was a humanities student.