Question about IQ tests

Does anyone here know anything about this? When a person has a professional IQ test done and there is a large discrepancy between verbal and performance scores, in particular, very high verbal scores with 15 fewer points on performance section, is this indicative of a mental disorder - such as depression, OCD, autism, or anything else?

I am not sure cms. I know there are some sites that go into detail about IQ test scores and stuff. Perhaps you could try that.

If not, you may want to call a place that administers the tests.

I am sorry I wasnt more help

not of mental disorders. IQ tests are included in comprehensive psychological evaluations so that they can rule out learning disorders as the problem areas.

some learning disorders show up in those kinds of dicrepancies like a person with deslexia (reading and writing backwards and out of order) will have a higher verbal score than written and reading score. A person who is color blind will have a discrepancy on any questions regarding color comparisons.

When I originally started gettng diagnosed for all my schtick, one of the tests was a very involved test with a neuro-psychiatrist (or whatever they are called) testing for ADD, learning disorders, and things like that. One of the results of the test was and IQ score.

You might consider instead of looking into an IQ test for it's own sake, getting something like this which encompasses also what other problems might exist.

In fact, he said that because he found I was ADHD, and had some learning disorders, that the score he arrived at would actually be considered at least 25 points less (possibly evfen more than 25) since I had no help in learning compensatory skills at that time, and that after I did, if I retook a test, I'd probably have it raised.

He was right, a few years later, when I took a 2nd IQ test, the score came out 35 points higher than the original.

Where does that get me? I'm a genius, but can't remember how to tie a shoelace or pass a test. Go figure. Go figure.

thank you all. Cats, I actually had a battery of tests a LONG time ago through vocational rehab. I can recall that I had very high verbal scores (140-150) and a somewhat lower performance scores (117). I also had to draw pictures and look at ink blots, etc.

It's kind of intriguing because my husband was tested for ADD - which he does NOT have after all - and his IQ scores had the same pattern as mine - although his are in the average range..

All I was told about the ink blots is that I'm a frightened person who is afraid of the world. Everyone here: raise your hand if you're not!!

Hi cms,

It's not all that unusual for someone to have a split between verbal and performance IQ scores. It depends on the amount and how frequently this occurs in your particular age group whether it's clinically significant or not. Your tester should be able to tell you this info if you ask.

For example, something that occurs in, say 25% of the population is not really all that unusual, and usually does not indicate something that has a meaningful effect on a person's abilities.

gg

A large gap between verbal and non-verbal scores on an Standard IQ test can indicate Non-Verbal Learning disability. It means that you are a strong verbal learner. Having the large gap can mean that you are sometimes "out of sync" finding some tasks easy while others frustratingly difficult.

The person who administered your test should be able to interpret the scores for you. IQ tests detect learning issues.

Here are web sites that I have found very useful for researching learning disabilities:

http://www.nldline.com/

http://www.ldonline.org/

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cms39 said:All I was told about the ink blots is that I'm a frightened person who is afraid of the world. Everyone here: raise your hand if you're not!!

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If the testers ever took their heads out of the ink blobs and took a really good look outside at the world, hell, they'd be afraid of the world too!

Thank you everyone.

Peanuts, those sites had a wealth of information and I am happy you recommended those. They say NLD and OCD often occur together.

I had my tests done years ago with vocational rehab and I recently requested those records. However, it may be too long ago.

The descriptions of NLD have a familiar ring to them. There is a book about employment and NLD; I read parts of this book and WOW! Two people with this disorder failed their student teaching experiences as I did. One was a lawyer who concentrates on research. One studied to be a speech pathologist, but had trouble during his practicum because of social learning issues.

People with NLD love words. Several majored in English. Many are good at editing and proofreading, but the publishing world requires social skills as well. They don't do well with groups of people, but can function in a one-on-one environment. It's nice to read about people who are like me.

Thank you for the information, Peanuts.

You are very welcome. I'm glad you found the sites useful. Another great site is Mel Levine's site - sometimes his stuff is a bit dry but his angle is everyone has strengths. He also discusses at length the myths of laziness etc. Again - we are talking about brain wiring here and not purposeful acts of defiance or being lazy.

http://www.allkindsofminds.org/

I personally don't believe much in IQ test showing intiligence. Honestly there are to much factors influencing it to make it reliable in my eyes.

As for the gap well i've spend some time on a forum with people who had autisme and yes a lot of them had that gap. But i don't think it having a gap means problems... It could indicate some but it's not a necesary thing i think...

but there are people in this world who probebly know much more about this then me