Understanding WAIS results

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These are my results from the WAIS test I took 3 weeks ago. I have a meeting to discuss them tomorrow and get my support plan recommendations. My problem is they are meaningless to me- just look like a page of words and numbers. Can someone help me to understand them please?


Verbal comprehension
-Information 13 84
-Similarities 4 5
-Vocabulary 8 25

Working Memory
-Digit span 10 50
-Arithmetic 15 95

Perceptual Reasoning
-Block design 12 75
-Matrix reasoning 11 63
-Visual puzzles 14 91

Processing Speed
-Symbol search 5 5
-Digit-symbol scanning 5 5


Specific Index Levels
-Verbal comprehension index 27
-Perceptual organisation index 81
-Working memory index 82
-Processing speed index 4


<edit to add scaled scores and highlight percentiles in bold>

Last edited by dorfin on 15 May 2012, 5:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'm not sure. I got Scaled Scores for each subtest which were all less than 20. Are they perhaps percentiles? You should receive overall scores and percentiles for each of the scales, and a Full Scale IQ and percentile.

Mine was WAIS-III though, WAIS-IV might be different. I have learnt how to score that one but I forget. Sorry!

In any case, they should explain it all to you tomorrow.

Did some more information come with this? Spontaneously - someone correct me if I'm wrong - I'd think these sound like percentiles (any mention of that on whatever paper or so the scores come from?) if only because these can't possibly be the raw scores. Anyway, your performance on the IQ test looks as if it was all other the place; processing speed being an area you did very poorly in but as far as the visual/performance tasks go, you were really good and arithmetic would be nothing short of awesome.

Yes it says percentiles for those numbers. they were highlighted in bold. There was another set of numbers called scaled score but no overall IQ anywhere.

Considering how varied your scores are, they probably could not reliably determine an overall IQ (i.e. it would be useless information). So just look at each score as a percentage out of 100, of how you did compared to the general population. Those with high scores you did better at than those with low scores.

So where I only got a 5 that means I did worse the 95% of people. That is bad.

If I remember correctly, those with autism often score poorly on the processing speed tasks. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. While you didn't do as well as most on those tasks, you did better than most on others.

The bold number is the percentile and the other number is the scaled score. The scaled score ranges from 1-19 for the subtests. Your full scale IQ is approximately 100 but they look for large differences between subtest scores within an index and between the indexes themselves. I'm going by memory but if iirc a difference of 5 or 7 between subtest scores within and index is considered unusul, 5 or 7 depending on which index. Also a difference of aprox. 20 between index scores is considered unusual. Basically your IQ can't be accurately measured because of the large differences in scores. What these numbers are useful for is to show you areas of strength and weakness.

So my results should all be closer together and not look like a load of random numbers have been thrown across the page? Unless I haven't understood your post correctly, all my scores look like they have a difference of more than 5-7.

The difference between subtests WITHIN and index. For example Verbal comprehension index- 13,4,8 - this is very unusual. Working memory index- 15 and 10 - this may be considered unusual but I can't remember if it's 5 or 7 for WMI. The other part is the difference between index scores. For example there is a huge difference between your processing speed index and all of the other indexes. People on the spectrum tend to score low on the PSI. I had large differences on my WAIS and WMS also.

Yes, PSI is usually the lowest for autistic people. Here you can find a graph showing the average pattern of the index scores according to a study:

http://books.google.hu/books?id=taaLZsy ... &q&f=false
(page 247)

The idea is that for autistic people a larger scatter of subtests and indexes can be expected due to uneven abilities.

You did very well on Perceptual Reasoning subtests, which is an autistic strong point.

Here you can read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_A ... ence_Scale

Last edited by OJani on 15 May 2012, 7:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry for my stupidity I think I understand it now, its the scaled scores I should have been looking at not the percentiles!

I'll do my best.

General thoughts:
Your test shows the typical scatter for the autism spectrum--you're great at some things, horrible at other things. Most people would be between the 30th and 70th percentiles on most things, but you're probably hitting floors and ceilings. (That means you either can't answer more than a couple questions, or you're answering all of them, so that the test becomes less valid.)

Information asks you random questions about the world. Your score shows you have a broad base of general knowledge, and are probably very good at memorizing facts.

Similarities involves associating the meanings of words with each other. Here, you are very weak. Interesting, because of how much better you are at answering questions about facts. It may be that you are better at repeating old information than coming up with new information quickly enough to produce it on an IQ test.

Your vocabulary is just below average. This could mean that you tend to use simpler words to mean more things, or that you aren't language-oriented.

Digit span is unremarkable; so you don't have any particular talent or deficit in remembering numbers just given to you. Your arithmetic score is very high, though--you probably have a strength in that area. You most likely use math easily and instinctively in your daily life.

Overall, very strong scores. Typical of someone with talent in visual thinking. You can probably picture objects and rotate them in your head easily; you may have a talent for things like puzzles, maps, navigation, or pattern-recognition.

Very low processing speed--something you should take to school to get extra time on your tests, if you are going to school. Your performance on any timed test (including the other IQ sub-scales) is probably not related to your actual ability. It takes you a while to figure things out, perhaps because you have to work them out in detail, going from step to step, or because it takes you a while to retrieve information.

You are likely to have problems with thinking fast enough to keep up with things around you, especially conversations and other word-heavy tasks. Try to focus on figuring out ways to give yourself more time, so that you can use your obvious strengths in memory and visual thinking.

may i ask what they said your full scale iq was?

Ravenclawgurl: it didn't give a full scale iq- some other replies say this is because my results were too varied to calculate it

Callista: what you wrote sounds exactly like me! I wish they had sent it how you wrote it, then I would have understood what it meant straight away.

I don't know why I scored so low on processing speed, i found those tests quite easy and didn't feel like I was answering slowly at all. Also I think I would have scored higher on the block test if it wasn't the first one I did. I was nervous about being there and my hands were shaking a bit. I completed them slowly not because my brain didn't know which way to turn and place each block, but because my hands were just not co-operating!

Can I ask one other question please? Would results like these indicate I have dyslexia? I ask because that is the reason my tutor originally refered me for testing, as I was failing badly at written assignments despite knowing the subject very well. e.g I got 93% in a multiple choice question paper but only 48% on an essay style one, in the same subject. In those kind it takes me so long to work out what information I need to answer with, then put it into sentences before I can start writing my answer. In my last exam like this I only managed to write 1 piece of A4 paper in 2 hours.

I personally don't think I have dyslexia. I have read about it and it doesn't sound like me (that was how I found out about aspergers, which does sound like me, and eventually found this website) but my tutor was really insistant that I should get tested anyway. So do these results show I have dyslexia or not or something else? At my university you need to have dyslexia or something similar to get any help from the learning support workers and DSA or extra times in exams.

I've made this test a long time ago and I remember that I was on very strong psychosis when I took the test. Almost all subtests were high or very high (arithmetic 17 if I remember right, I can make sick calculations with my head) expect in one subtest (where you were given images and psychologist said that there is something missing) I f****d up completely and I don't know why.