01
Preliminary session
We clarify the referral question: why this assessment now, what has been observed, expectations. For children, this session takes place with parents.
IQ Test · Gifted Assessment · Geneva
IQ Test & Gifted Assessment
in Geneva
I assess cognitive functioning in adults, children and adolescents using the Wechsler scales: WAIS-IV for adults, WISC-V for children and adolescents. The goal is not only to obtain a score — it is to understand a profile: strengths, vulnerabilities, index discrepancies and their concrete implications.
WAIS-IV adults · WISC-V children
Adults, children from age 6 & adolescents
English & French
Why get tested?
Common reasons for an IQ assessment
Understanding a persistent sense of difference
Feeling that you function differently from others, learn quickly or slowly depending on the domain, or are very strong in some areas and genuinely struggling in others.
Exploring a giftedness hypothesis
Online tests, feedback from a professional or someone close — you want a structured evaluation with normed tools, without reducing the conclusion to a single score.
Documenting a profile for an ADHD assessment
A Wechsler scale is often part of a broader ADHD assessment. It illuminates cognitive strengths, vulnerabilities and compensation strategies.
Understanding a child's cognitive profile
Developmental asynchrony, academic difficulties despite strong ability, or behaviours that raise questions — an intellectual assessment provides objective insight into a child's functioning.
Professional or academic orientation
Understanding your cognitive profile can help identify learning styles, favourable work environments and areas for development.
Clinical reading
Beyond the global score
The Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) is often the only number retained — but it is a significant reduction. It is the index profile that provides clinically useful information.
In ADHD or giftedness contexts, discrepancies between indices are often more revealing than the global score. An FSIQ in the average range can sometimes mask very high strengths and significant vulnerabilities — particularly in working memory or processing speed.
It is precisely this differentiated reading of the profile that makes the assessment clinically valuable, rather than simply answering "what is my IQ?"
VCI
Verbal Comprehension
Verbal reasoning, vocabulary, ability to conceptualise and express ideas. Often elevated in gifted profiles.
VSI
Visual-Spatial
Non-verbal reasoning, perceptual organisation, mental manipulation of shapes and spatial relationships.
WMI
Working Memory
Ability to hold and manipulate information in short-term memory. Often fragile in ADHD profiles.
PSI
Processing Speed
Speed and efficiency of simple cognitive processing. Can be low even in very high-ability profiles.
Concrete benefits
What the assessment can bring you
Moving beyond a global reading
An overall IQ score says little on its own. The assessment objectifies specific cognitive resources, identifies significant discrepancies between domains and helps understand why certain contexts are more demanding than others.
Understanding a child's profile
High ability in some areas, unexpected slowness elsewhere, loss of motivation or difficulty adapting at school — the assessment reads this profile rather than attributing it to lack of effort.
Clarifying a sense of difference in adults
Long-standing sense of functioning differently, giftedness hypothesis, possible coexistence of high ability and attentional or executive vulnerabilities — the assessment provides a precise reading.
Understanding compensation strategies
Hypercontrol, perfectionism, constant mental effort or avoidance — the assessment reveals the cognitive resources mobilised and those disproportionately taxed.
Giftedness
Giftedness: neither a status nor a superpower
What giftedness is not
Giftedness is not a status or a guarantee of success. It does not protect against academic failure, psychological distress or relational difficulties. Some gifted profiles go undetected throughout schooling.
What the assessment provides
Objectifying intellectual functioning with normed tools, identifying strengths and vulnerabilities, understanding index discrepancies, and formulating concrete guidance for adaptation.
Twice-exceptionality
Giftedness and ADHD can coexist. High ability can sometimes mask attentional difficulties, while ADHD may lead to underestimation of cognitive resources. A full assessment examines both dimensions without reducing the person to a single explanation.
Giftedness is not a clinical diagnosis. The assessment does not reduce the person to a category. It documents a level of intellectual functioning, an index profile, any discrepancies and hypotheses useful for understanding the person's daily life.
Process
The assessment in 5 steps
02
Wechsler scale
WAIS-IV for adults (18+), WISC-V for children and adolescents (6–16). Administration typically lasts 60 to 90 minutes depending on pace and profile.
03
Supplementary tests (if indicated)
Memory, attention or executive function tests may complement the intellectual assessment to refine the profile reading.
04
Analysis & interpretation
Results are analysed index by index, not only globally. Discrepancies between subtests — peaks and troughs — are often as informative as the global score.
05
Restitution & report
A restitution session presents results, hypotheses and concrete guidance. A report is provided on request for medical, school, therapeutic or personal use.
FAQ
IQ Test & Gifted Assessment in Geneva
What does an IQ test actually measure?
An IQ test does not produce just one number. It generates a structured cognitive profile from several indices illuminating verbal reasoning, visual-spatial reasoning, working memory, processing speed and, depending on the tool, fluid reasoning. These indices are often more clinically useful than the global score, particularly in ADHD, giftedness or learning difficulty contexts.
What is the difference between the WAIS-IV and WISC-V?
The WAIS-IV is the Wechsler scale for adults (18 and above). The WISC-V is adapted for children and adolescents aged 6 to 16. For older adolescents in transition (16–18), the choice of tool depends on the profile and the referral question.
Does a high IQ mean giftedness?
By psychometric convention, a Full Scale IQ around 130 places the person at approximately the top 2% of the reference population. But giftedness cannot be reduced to a threshold. The cognitive profile, index discrepancies, real-life impact and the person's history are equally important.
Can giftedness and ADHD coexist?
Yes — this is called twice-exceptionality. High ability can sometimes mask an ADHD profile, and ADHD can lead to underestimation of intellectual potential. A full assessment examines both dimensions and documents each correctly.
Is an IQ assessment useful for a child with academic difficulties?
Often yes. Academic difficulties in a high-ability child may reflect boredom, developmental asynchrony, associated ADHD or a need for a different environment. The cognitive assessment helps understand this functioning and guide adaptations.
Are sessions reimbursed?
Sessions are generally not covered by compulsory Swiss health insurance (LAMal). Some supplementary insurance policies may contribute — please check with your insurer. A detailed invoice is provided.
Book an appointment
Start by clarifying the question
The first session allows us to understand your situation, determine which assessment is relevant and propose a protocol adapted to your age and referral question.