Psych Testing results
So... I have mixed feelings about this.
I received my psychological assessment test results - a full battery of tests, since my psychologist had no idea what was going on with me. Apparently, ADHD, Depression & PTSD share many symptoms.
Anyway, the general outcome is that I am officially diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. I wasn't expecting to be diagnosed with THAT severe of depression, but I did know that it is something I have struggled with at different points throughout my life. My current bout of depression has lasted for several years, and was triggered by my ongoing health problems.
Unfortunately (to me), they did not confirm a diagnoses of inattentive-type ADHD (which is what I am 95% sure I have), meaning that I cannot get medication. Normally, I am against medication, but in the case of ADHD, the vast majority of people I has spoken with (and research I have done) corroborates that you can try to learn & implement new life skills, but it doesn't really click until you get the medication to allow your brain to behave normally. The tests DID confirm that I definitely have attention problems, however, they are attributing them to a side-effect of the depression. (This is partially due to discrepancies in testing, and partially due to my overall intelligence and high level of testing)
I test well. I LIKE testing. In this case, that became a problem as it did not accurately reflect my normal functioning. Also, they gave me an IQ test, which I did... very well on. (Well enough to apply to Mensa, which I am surprised & excited about!) The problem is that I may just be intelligent enough that I am able to cope with or cover some of my ineptitude, which theoretically is great, but in reality means there is not enough "impairment" to qualify as a "disability."
It's a weird situation to be in, and to explain the weirdness, here is an excerpt, straight from my report (emphasis my own):
"The IVA is a combined auditory-visual computer-administered test designed to classify attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders. During this test, Ms. Potts appeared agitated. She tapped her foot and mover her head from side to side and said that this movement helped her to focus. Across visual domains, she scored in the average to severely impaired range. Specifically, her scores revealed severe impairments in the ability to discriminate between target and non-target visual prompts. Her ability to control responses to visual information was below average, and her ability to sustain visual attention was average.
Across auditory domains, Ms. Potts's scores were below average. Specifically, her scores revealed below average ability to discriminate between target and non-target auditory prompts, to control responses to auditory information and to sustain auditory attention was average. According to test developers, this pattern of performance is consistent with a diagnoses of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Predominantly Mixed Inattentive/Hyperactive Type. However, it should be noted that her strategy for focusing during this test likely impacted her performance negatively and so conclusions cannot be drawn, especially because it is significantly discrepant from her performance across testing."
So basically, my ADHD test wasn't conclusive because I couldn't sit still for it. WHUT.
The note at the end "significantly discrepant from her performance across testing" is because nearly every other test I got 'High Average' to 'Very Superior' on.
So, the tests say I'm hyper-intelligent. That's cool. I still can't take care of myself or hold down a goddamn job. So these test results leave me (I think understandably) frustrated, confused, and unsure what to try next.
I received my psychological assessment test results - a full battery of tests, since my psychologist had no idea what was going on with me. Apparently, ADHD, Depression & PTSD share many symptoms.
Anyway, the general outcome is that I am officially diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. I wasn't expecting to be diagnosed with THAT severe of depression, but I did know that it is something I have struggled with at different points throughout my life. My current bout of depression has lasted for several years, and was triggered by my ongoing health problems.
Unfortunately (to me), they did not confirm a diagnoses of inattentive-type ADHD (which is what I am 95% sure I have), meaning that I cannot get medication. Normally, I am against medication, but in the case of ADHD, the vast majority of people I has spoken with (and research I have done) corroborates that you can try to learn & implement new life skills, but it doesn't really click until you get the medication to allow your brain to behave normally. The tests DID confirm that I definitely have attention problems, however, they are attributing them to a side-effect of the depression. (This is partially due to discrepancies in testing, and partially due to my overall intelligence and high level of testing)
I test well. I LIKE testing. In this case, that became a problem as it did not accurately reflect my normal functioning. Also, they gave me an IQ test, which I did... very well on. (Well enough to apply to Mensa, which I am surprised & excited about!) The problem is that I may just be intelligent enough that I am able to cope with or cover some of my ineptitude, which theoretically is great, but in reality means there is not enough "impairment" to qualify as a "disability."
It's a weird situation to be in, and to explain the weirdness, here is an excerpt, straight from my report (emphasis my own):
"The IVA is a combined auditory-visual computer-administered test designed to classify attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders. During this test, Ms. Potts appeared agitated. She tapped her foot and mover her head from side to side and said that this movement helped her to focus. Across visual domains, she scored in the average to severely impaired range. Specifically, her scores revealed severe impairments in the ability to discriminate between target and non-target visual prompts. Her ability to control responses to visual information was below average, and her ability to sustain visual attention was average.
Across auditory domains, Ms. Potts's scores were below average. Specifically, her scores revealed below average ability to discriminate between target and non-target auditory prompts, to control responses to auditory information and to sustain auditory attention was average. According to test developers, this pattern of performance is consistent with a diagnoses of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Predominantly Mixed Inattentive/Hyperactive Type. However, it should be noted that her strategy for focusing during this test likely impacted her performance negatively and so conclusions cannot be drawn, especially because it is significantly discrepant from her performance across testing."
So basically, my ADHD test wasn't conclusive because I couldn't sit still for it. WHUT.
The note at the end "significantly discrepant from her performance across testing" is because nearly every other test I got 'High Average' to 'Very Superior' on.
So, the tests say I'm hyper-intelligent. That's cool. I still can't take care of myself or hold down a goddamn job. So these test results leave me (I think understandably) frustrated, confused, and unsure what to try next.
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