wow, ok, so i don’t even know where to begin. i’m new to reddit in general, and have only lurked thus far. but the results i got from my most recent psychological evaluation have spurred me to make my first post ever.
so, my brief history: i’m 28, she/her, and i have been diagnosed with many mental health disorders, including adhd. i am also autistic. i’ve had 5 psychological evaluations done in my life, as psychiatrists keep encouraging me to get new ones as there are a few disputed diagnoses (basically, no one seems to be able to figure out if i’m borderline or bipolar).
anyway, diagnoses aside — (i promise i’m not ai, i just use em dashes sometimes) i’m here about the results of my most recent iq test. the test administered was the rias-2, and . . . well, let’s just say that in all four previous tests, my iq ranged from 110-119. this time, though? well, apparently i’ve dropped 31 points to a whopping 85. the tests took place in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023 and this one in 2026. so, in three years, i have dropped from a 116 to an 85. in all of the categories measured, i scored below average — and, in composite memory and processing speed, i tested in the literal FIRST percentile.
i don’t believe i’m the smartest person in the world, but me and those around me (family, friends, acquaintances, teachers, and professors) do believe that i’m intelligent. i’ve never struggled in school (never made anything below a b, and those few b’s were when i had given up on school due to severe depression). i was the first girl in my elementary school’s history to qualify for the gifted and talented program in the first grade (at my elementary school, that was the first time you could take the test and i qualified on my first try). i was the valedictorian of my graduating college class. i’m not going to go on and on about how smart i think i am (when, apparently, i am nowhere close), but i do want to mention i have been writing my entire life (i’ve been published in multiple literary magazines) and have always been told (my english teachers, other teachers in classes i wrote essays, and by the people who hear me verbally speak) i am articulate. according to this psychological evaluation, the psychologist i saw believes i have a vocabulary and grammar issues so low she considers it a learning disability.
so . . . that’s why i’m here. i have an appointment to go over my results in person tomorrow, but i’m just . . . remember how i said i have a lot of mental health issues? yeah, well, i’m panicking over these results. i read every word of her evaluation, and not once did she indicate she thought the results were misrepresentative.
i don’t want to come across as, like, someone whose ego has driven me to ask internet strangers to tell i’m not smart. i just . . . truly do not understand how a 31 point drop occurred in less than three years with no indication from the psychologist that the results were skewed by things like my adhd and the depressive crisis i’m currently going through.
so . . . does anyone have anything that could help make sense of this for me?
also, i’m so sorry if this type of post isn’t allowed. if it isn’t, could someone please direct me to where this type of post would be allowed?
thank you all so much in advance.