Wais-Iii Psychological Assessment Report Essay Example

an incident in which he made a small fortune off of a business he sold shortly before squandering away all of his money.

He describes his youngest brother as lacking in motivation with little concern for the future. John states that he never took issue with the divorce of his parents as he had always felt that a divorce could be beneficial to everyone in the family due to the constant fighting. In 2005 John received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and graduated with a 4. 0 grade point average. He then attended the University of Washington where he received his Master of Science in Psychology and graduated with a grade point average of 3. 7. Currently, John is a second year law student at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in which he holds a grade point average of 2. 9. Occupational History: John reports his student status as being the primary occupation he has held in the last eight to nine years with the exception his work as a teachers’ assistant for four years, and a tutor in statistics for two years. Previous to his occupation as a student, he was self-employed in construction and maintenance. Medical History:

John has no personal current or past reported medical problems or medications, head trauma, allergies or drug intolerances, hospitalizations and no experiences of seizures or seizure like activity. John reports periods of “spaciness” in which he forgets having a scheduled class, the names of individuals he has known for years, and easily misplaces items such as keys. John claims he experiences occasional confusion during travel in which he forgets the city he is

currently in. Currently, John indicated living a healthy lifestyle consisting of a nutritious diet and regular exercise two to three times a week in his Jiu Jitsu classes.

He states that as a result of witnessing the issues with addiction faced by his mother he never tried any drugs and rarely drinks. He therefore has no history of drug or alcohol abuse and claims to only drink one or two drinks twice a week. John’s mother has a history of anxiety, depression and alcoholism. She has been hospitalized three times. She was checked into a lock-down facility, by her now former husband, for alcohol abuse. She later checked herself into a rehabilitation facility for abuse of pain killers. Finally, she was forcefully admitted to a psychiatric ward for attempted suicide.

Currently, she has been sober for five years, although John describes her sobriety as periodical since she was approximately twenty-one. John’s father has a history of skin cancer and high blood pressure. Though his father has never been hospitalized, John claims he abuses alcohol regularly and has since his early twenties with no history of drug abuse of any other kind that he is aware of. Psychological History: John reports a history of anxiety during adolescence lasting from age fifteen to age twenty with no professional diagnosis.

He recalls feelings of helplessness in observing the constant struggle of his mother alcoholism and drug abuse.

BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS :

John appeared of average stature, a healthy build, and of his stated age. He was dressed appropriately and casual, well-groomed, and displayed no difficulties with coordination and gait. Interpersonal rapport was easily established as John approached the assessment with a smile, excitement, and

a cooperative attitude. His mood and affect were consistent, displaying a positive and composed alertness.

He was relaxed and openly shared information on his background. Upon administration of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Third Edition, John remained alert, oriented, and stable in mood. He expressed a clear, coherent, linear train of thought throughout the session, with the exception of a few instances in the beginning of the assessment. In these instances, he appeared slightly nervous and his responses were overly detailed and somewhat difficult to follow. John spoke with a normal rate and volume and his speech was logical and easy to understand while maintaining good eye contact.

Though this score is noticeably lower than his Verbal IQ score, it still places him in the 92nd percentile rank which is within the Superior range of the population. With the exception of the Processing Speed Index score of 106 (96-114) using a 95% confidence interval which places John at the 66th percentile rank within Average range of the population, all of the other cognitive domains placed John in either the Superior or Very Superior range. His Verbal Comprehension Index score of 136 places John in the 99th percentile rank, and a Working Memory Index score of 141 in the 99. th percentile rank, both of which fall under the Very Superior range. Though not quite as impressive as the scores of Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory, the Perceptual Organization Index score of 125 with a 95% confidence interval places John at the 95th percentile rank landing him right in the middle of the Superior range of the population, an impressive status nonetheless.

Discrepancy comparisons of all cognitive domains of

overall Verbal IQ scores and Performance IQ scores indicate statistically significant differences, found at the . 5 level with a confidence level range of 95%, with the exception of Verbal Comprehension Index and Working Memory Index in which he scored 136 and 141, respectively, placing both in the Very Superior range. There were no statistically significant scores among subtests of domains to indicate any strengths or weaknesses. The discrepancy comparison of John’s overall Verbal IQ and Performance IQ indicates significant differences to the advantage of Verbal IQ in which he scored 14, ranking him at the 99th percentile of the population in the Very Superior range.

On his Performance IQ, John scored 121 placing him at the 92nd percentile rank, landing in the Superior range. Discrepancy comparison of Verbal Comprehension Index and Perceptual Organization Index indicated a statistically significant difference in favor of Verbal Comprehension with a score of 136 placing him at the 99th percentile rank and in the Very Superior range. While his Perceptual Organization Index score of 125 places him in the 95th percentile rank of the general population, falling under the Superior range.

Comparison of John’s Perceptual Organization Index and Processing Speed Index show a statistically significant difference with a POI score of 125, 30 points greater than his PSI score of 106, the lowest of all other index scores. This PSI places him at the 66th percentile rank in Average range, a drastically different score as compared to all other index scores. This is interesting as both domains offer an understanding of Performance IQ. Upon examination of the subtests within each domain, one can account for this large discrepancy.

Subtests for Perceptual Organization

Index included Matrix Reasoning in which John was asked to identify the missing item in a matrix of various colorful shapes. Block Design was also used in which John was asked to take multiple red and white colored blocks and form them to match the picture presented. Though results were not statistically significant, he did perform above the mean of the general population. Whereas, in subtests measuring Processing Speed such as Symbol Search and Digit-Symbol Coding, scores fell within close range to the mean of Performance IQ.

Scores for the Verbal Comprehension Index and Processing Speed Index indicate another significant statistical difference. John’s overall Verbal IQ and Verbal Comprehension scores both fall in the Very Superior range as compared to subtest scores of Performance IQ. Although there were no statistically significant scores of subtests to indicate any strengths or weaknesses, John scored above average in almost every subtest of the Verbal Comprehension Index while in subtests of the Processing Speed Index he tended to score closer range of the average individual.

There was no indication of any lacking in abilities of concentration, attention, or organization and expression of thoughts through verbal communication. The only exception can be attributed to the apparent stress brought on during subtests in which he was asked particular open-ended questions, such as is found in vocabulary, similarities, and comprehension. This stress was indicated by his occasional overly detailed responses. Though, responses were correct the majority of the time, it appeared he had difficulty choosing only one for fear of an incorrect response.

John’s Performance Index score suggests that he falls at the lower end of the Superior range, almost bordering High Average. In examining

the cognitive domains of Performance, it shows that John is perfectly in the middle of the Superior range in matters of Perceptual Organization. He displays strong visual alertness, recognition, and identification, planning ability, concept of time, analogic reasoning, and nonverbal concept formation. It is only within the domain of Processing Speed that a less than superior intellectual functioning can be found.

It is within this domain that John scored in the Average range of the population. There was no indication of a lack of understanding of directions or ability to use provided materials, such as a pencil and paper. John is a very intellectually developed thirty-four year old, Causcasian man. In reference to the referral question regarding concern of declining intellectual abilities effecting his current grades, his scores indicate that these concerns of intellectual deterioration not only cannot be supported, but provide evidence that support the contrary.

Overall, he is high in intellectual functioning and even intellectually superior as compared to the majority of the population. In reference to the referral question and concern over memory ability, his scores of working memory and perceptual organization indicate otherwise.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• A Stress Assessment may be beneficial to John as many of the symptoms he complains of such as disorganized “scattered” thought and forgetfulness can be indicative of stress and not necessarily of a declining intellectual capacity. Due to various life-changing events John has experienced in recent years, and is anticipating in the near future, he may wish to consult with a therapist to work through any stress-related issues.

• As education is of primary concern to John at this time, he may wish to consider temporarily focusing solely on his grades,

rather than extra-curricular activities, as raising his grades could help to alleviate many of his concerns.