Evaluation

[SusanLR]

I had a two hour IQ type test with the psychologist's assistant.
Didn't worry about it. Some things were good, others not so good.
Then I was given a huge psych test with multiple questions as a personality type eval.
It was multiple choice and many of those questions didn't have a good choice.
You couldn't explain your choice either.
Some questions like Do you take drugs? I ask what is meant by drugs.
She answered whatever you want it to mean.
Do you see things others don't? Again a yes or no really doesn't cut it.
Most autistics seem to see a lot of things others miss.
Put yes and they think you mean you hallucinate!
Same with hearing thngs others don't. Sensitive hearing, yes, I do.
They consider it auditory hallucinations.
By the end of that test it was graded as Schizoid personality.
I protested and told her to look at those answers through Aspie eyes!
So we talked about some of them and she understood what I was trying to say.

The rest of the testing was talking mainly about growing up and questions geared towards
socialising or delayed cognitive learning.
Some were about obsessions or arranging things in order.
One of the funny ones was when she picked up a can of pencils and threw them all over the
table and ask if that bothered me. (OCD)

 

[Progster]

I think that the anchor and fence question is to test your global understanding or ability to see the big picture - the common purpose of the things (big picture) rather than the things themselves (details). Autistic people tend to work detail up to big picture, whereas NTs tend to work big picture down to detail. When I heard it, my immediate reaction was that they have nothing in common, then a little later I reaslied that they are supposed to limit something. Something similar happens when I hear a metaphor or idiom - I get the literal picture and details first, then later I piece them together to find the big picture.

The numbers sequencing is testing your short term memory, your ability to hold information or numbers in your short term memory and work with them. Not easy.

My assessment was an interview in which my mum was present, in which I was asked about my current and past life, but he also asked some questions to see my reaction to things. He also asked my mum a few questions about my childhood, my play habits, for example, and things like my handwriting. My mum was helpful because she supported my suspicion that I had Asperger's and was able to back it up.

 

[AloneNotLonely]

Not sure what kind of evaluation this was. A test for Autism? This seems like the kind of test devised to hit the weak points of people with Autism, else it wouldn't be very useful for evaluation if you have Autism, right?

Don't sweat it too much, the result will be that you get confused by words on otherwise simple questions due to Autism. It won't be "Subject is extremely dull and doesn't know that 99/2 = 49.5". My answer to the Fence/Anchor would be that they are both made of linked metal/steel parts. Technically my answer is 100% correct, whether it's what they are looking for or not. It's a question that can be answered in a technically correct manner in multiple ways.

I once had an IQ test which involved the evaluator speaking in a very weird way where I had to write down the words. I kept trying to argue with the evaluator to speak in a clear manner so I think I botched that part... but it's hard to remember. Later I read about different IQ tests that this is actually a test for a certain form of IQ. I still nuked the test, but I do even better at pure Raven's Progressive Matrices.

So if it is an IQ test, you might have done better than you think you have. And even if a low IQ does result from it and it makes you feel bad, get a pure Raven's Progressive matrices test so you can nuke that and get an actual correct IQ, rather than with a test where you are handicapped by Autism and as such will give an incorrect result.

 

[HidinginPlainSight]

I found it absurd.

I ended up getting into an argument over one of the questions as I didn't like how it was phrased and figured that it called into question validity of the test in general. I suppose I took a zero on that one for what ever that's worth, but I suppose I passed(?) the autism test.

 

[Nervous Rex]

That whole test sounds odd - like it's based on common stereotypes... like if they can't find some savant-level skill, then you can't be autistic?

I don't see how your math skills or vocabulary apply to anything the DSM says about autism.

Also, the first thing I thought of was that "fence" and "anchor" both have "nc" in them. I believe that means that ... absolutely nothing. It doesn't mean a thing.

 

[HidinginPlainSight]

That whole test sounds odd - like it's based on common stereotypes... like if they can't find some savant-level skill, then you can't be autistic?

I don't see how your math skills or vocabulary apply to anything the DSM says about autism.

Also, the first thing I thought of was that "fence" and "anchor" both have "nc" in them. I believe that means that ... absolutely nothing. It doesn't mean a thing.

It actually means you're correct and Google is wrong.

 

[Fino]

y answer to the Fence/Anchor would be that they are both made of linked metal/steel parts. Technically my answer is 100% correct, whether it's what they are looking for or not.

Wooden fences.

 

[AloneNotLonely]

Wooden Anchors.

Material was not specified either way. But there's still a lot of other connections that make sense. Like something you stick in the ground.

 

[HidinginPlainSight]

Wooden Anchors.

Material was not specified either way. But there's still a lot of other connections that make sense. Like something you stick in the ground.

The correct answer for this sort of question is the answer that is most parsimonious and true. Meaning the answer that requires the fewest number of assumptions.

In the case of them being both methods of containing things, this clearly requires assumptions. Many fences do not create a perimeter at all and doing so is not always their purpose. So before you can answer you must make assumptions as to the type of fence and its purpose. The key word being "could".

Accepting that answers leaves to door open to answers such as the material, the colour etc. They all can't be right, and they're not.

The words both contain a "n" followed by a "c" is a similarity so it passes the truth test. It is true and can never be untrue without making a single assumption. This is the correct answer and all other answers are wrong.

 

[AloneNotLonely]

So the question was bogus anyway.

They both go in the ground though, so I think this is also true. At least until we get floating laser fences

 

[Pats]

I googled the answer after I hung up the phone, and apparently the answer is "they both contain things." For example, an anchor could contain a boat and a fence could contain something in a yard. I never would have been able to think of that myself - it is too abstract

I thought - 'they're both grounded'.

 

[Pats]

One of my questions was what melts, burns and made with wax? My first answer was chocolate - which is a correct answer. But then I immediately corrected the answer and said, "Oh, wait. You're looking for candle, aren't you?" The person giving the test did not realize that paraffin (wax) was in chocolate. So if that remained my answer (not what he was looking for) did that make him smarter than me or me smarter than him - in his eyes? Because it would have been the wrong answer, even though it was a correct answer. I hate those tests.

 

[Pats]

When I worked with geriatric patients, every day we had to give this mini mental test - what day of the week, date, month and year is it and what city, county, state are we in. If a patient was transported there from somewhere else they wouldn't know what county we were in, sometimes not even know what city we were in and that didn't mean they were confused. I was the only one that would change the question to what city and county did they live in if they responded that they really didn't know because they don't live here. I get that and it doesn't mean they are mentally impaired. Now if they said it was 1967 - that would be pertinent.

 

[the_tortoise]

Some questions like Do you take drugs? I ask what is meant by drugs.
She answered whatever you want it to mean.

I did a short version of that and the person who assessed me went through my answers with me and asked me what I thought the question meant and why I answered the way I did; For a lot of them my interpretation was NOT what the question was asking....this had been anticipated. Going through the answers like that helps to prevent misdiagnosis -- people who assume they can tell what your interpretation is after the fact are foolish.

I had trouble with a lot of the questions on several of the questionnaires (not just the personality ones)....didn't understand what the questions meant.

My evaluation involved two full days of interviews, questionnaires, IQ testing, achievement tests, puzzle tests, tests of attention, specific social skills testing (watching videos and listening to audio recordings and answering questions; also hearing social situations read out and then answering questions), and separate parental interview afterwards.

Prior to the testing (like well before, not immediately before), I was shown the offices where the testing would take place and introduced to the person who would be assessing me.

After all the testing there was a follow-up appointment to go over the results and get a copy of the report.

 

[the_tortoise]

I don't see how your math skills or vocabulary apply to anything the DSM says about autism.

Testing various language skills assesses for language skills deficits and things like literal or concrete thinking.

Delays or deficits in language skills can be a part of autism (used to be part of the communication criteria in the DSM-IV and the criteria in the ICD-10, anyways -- now it's probably part of assessing levels as far as social/communication skills and is an add-on thing that clinicians write....e.g. "autism spectrum disorder without/with accompanying language impairment"), are part of doing a needs assessment, and can be part of ruling out other conditions (like Specific Language Impairments) masquerading as autism (i.e. if you have a Specific Language Impairment then that alone can impact upon your social skills and experiences even if you are not autistic since so much communication is language-based).

With testing math skills, it's just a part of assessing overall IQ and identifying needs and conditions that may be comorbid to autism or whatever else.

 

[SusanLR]

I think part of my problem with the testing was when you are older they don't take it as seriously
as a younger person who may need help in school or work settings.
Plus I had no parents or relatives alive to talk with about my early years.
Not much they can do once you're old enough to already be retired on SSD.
I just wanted to know for myself mainly, since the grief counselor suspectd and it was something
I did not know about at that time.
Once I started learning about ASD and interacting here on the forum, it would be so evident I could
have self diagnosed. But, now that the tests are over I can still get CBT and support more effectively
from the physcologist since they want the test to verify.

 

[JDShredds]

I've got the same sense as the OP with regards to testing, though I didn't get good grades at times (I wouldn't do homework I found arbitrary... which was a lot of it, and I also had attendance issues) but I aced tests without much effort or study.

There mere fact that it was done on the phone would be a guaranteed fail for me. The struggle of the social verbal dynamic mixed with brain twisting questions... couldn't do both at once. Verbal instruction is by far my worst.

I googled the answer after I hung up the phone, and apparently the answer is "they both contain things." For example, an anchor could contain a boat and a fence could contain something in a yard. I never would have been able to think of that myself - it is too abstract

.... Wait... what... see I wouldn't even call that containment. Wait... Ahh dammit. Yeah I'd never come up with that. When I first read that question in this thread, I paused and tried to respond as I would if I were queried. I said to myself, "Well, they're both physical objects. And, uh. They both obey gravity? Fences have to be anchored?" Frankly, I still think saying they both "contain" is a leap.

I think I already failed.