GIFTEDNESS ASSESSMENTS FOR ADULTS
IQ scores don't directly help you understand how your (gifted) mind works or the various nuances of your unique gifted profile - that's where a qualitative assessment comes in. Qualitative assessments with InterGifted help you look at whether you are gifted, and if so, what your unique gifted profile is. Our assessments are with our founder & director Jennifer Harvey Sallin or her colleague Silver Huang, and consist of written preparation and one or several discussion sessions. There is no testing involved, and our assessment goal is to provide thorough self-knowledge for self-development and personal and professional growth purposes. Jennifer and Silver both have extensive experience assessing, coaching, mentoring and otherwise guiding and supporting gifted, twice-exceptional and multi-exceptional adults. Here is what their clients say about their assessments.
WHAT IS A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT?
A qualitative assessment looks at giftedness based on cognitive, thought, and emotional patterns. We combine our professional training and knowledge with an exploration of your mind space (via your preparatory work and a live assessment discussion with you) in order to get a snapshot of the way your mind works. A qualitative assessment is beneficial for your self-understanding and unlocks doors for legitimizing, accepting, and empowering yourself on your self-awareness journey. As it is qualitative only, our process does not include testing of any kind.
WHAT WE EVALUATE
Our assessments take a full-picture look at your unique profile, opportunities and challenges, including:
- your level of giftedness
- your areas of intelligence and how they work together most naturally for you
- any possible twice- or multi-exceptionalities
- how environmental and social support, resources, and opportunities (or lack thereof) have helped or hindered your ability to express essential parts of your gifted mind and self fully
- how other complicating factors such as trauma history and chronic physical or mental health issues have affected your ability to express your gifted mind and self fully
- as appropriate, a clarifying discussion about the difference between external evidence of giftedness (such as good grades and eminence) vs. the inner reality of giftedness which may not be expressed in traditionally externalized ways
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE READY FOR AN ASSESSMENT WITH US?
If you feel excited to learn about your cognitive profile and to apply that knowledge actively in your personal development process, you are ready for an assessment with us! If you feel resistant to or scared or even angry about getting assessed, it is probably not the right time to take this step in your developmental journey. You may need to work toward feeling safe, connected, and hopeful before engaging in the assessment process. If that's the case, we can support you in that process via helping you find a gifted-specific therapist or connecting you with one of our coaches.
ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
- Our assessment sessions are two hours long and are held virtually on zoom.us (or via email for those who prefer written assessments) and include a lengthy discussion about all of the aspects of one's cognitive profile listed above. Prior to the session, we will send you pre-assessment reading and have you submit notes and answers to questions about your personal history - this information will be used in our assessment of your profile, as well as in our discussion with you.
- We provide our assessment of your profile verbally during the session. We do not provide assessment reports.
- Some clients choose to schedule additional assessment discussion sessions to further explore more specific aspects of the initial assessment discussion, such as how twice-exceptionalities or other factors affect giftedness expression or how one can best manage one's energy based on their gifted profile; however the first assessment session gives a thorough overview of giftedness level(s), areas of intelligence, possible twice-exceptionalities, and resources and recommendations for personal development based on one's unique profile.
- To get an idea of what you can expect from our assessments, you can read about the experiences of our clients here.
ADAPTED & CUSTOMIZED ASSESSMENTS
We know that for some gifted people, and especially twice- or multi-exceptional people, the idea of getting assessed or finding a way to describe the way one cognates can be overwhelming or intimidating, and for this we offer adapted assessments options. If the thought of doing an assessment sounds overwhelming to you, we offer “coached” assessments, where we will walk you through the assessment process step-by-step over several sessions, instead of requiring you to do the written preparation work on your own and performing the assessment in one session. We can customize the assessment process to your needs and situation, within reason. If this option is interesting to you, let us know when you reach out and we will work with you to create a personalized assessment plan. We want all gifted adults who come to us to feel safe and supported during the assessment process itself so that they can make the most of the insight and opportunities that arise from it.
FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS
Although we don't provide follow-up reports, all of our assessments include personalized recommendations for resources to explore to better understand your particular gifted mind and expression, and to resolve conflicts or challenges related to that. Based on your unique profile, needs, and personal goals, we also provide recommendations for the next steps on your self-discovery journey. Our recommendations can span from research to social resources to coaching/mentoring and therapy recommendations (including, to the gifted coaches and mentors in our InterGifted network, if appropriate). All assessments are tailored to each individual client, as are our resource recommendations.
ANSWERS TO FAQs
- Our assessments are qualitative, not quantitative; so we do not do IQ testing. You do not need to have an IQ score in order for us to carry out an assessment. If you have an IQ score from a previous test, we may factor that into our qualitative assessment, however it is not a necessary requirement.
- You do not need to be sure that you are gifted before having an assessment. If you are unsure, we help you evaluate that and can still provide resources and suggestions for next steps, even if you discover that you are not gifted via our assessment.
- We base our assessments on our training, years of experience working with and assessing gifted clients, as well as our research knowledge on giftedness and twice-/multi-exceptionality.
- Our assessments can be a helpful step for self-advocacy with employers, family members, or schools. They are not appropriate for legal cases or other situations which involve a need for quantitative reports.
- We do not provide follow-up assessment reports.
- You can pursue gifted coaching or mentoring before or simultaneous to having an assessment. Many clients prefer to start gifted coaching or mentoring right away, since our wait list for gifted assessments can sometimes be quite long. You will learn about many aspects of your gifted mind in coaching or mentoring with us, even if it will not go as in-depth or as be as profile-specific as we are in giftedness assessments. To inquire about gifted coaching or mentoring, simply tell us a bit about your coaching/mentoring needs in your assessment request email below or email us separately at coaching@intergifted.com.
ASSESSMENT COSTS & LOGISTICS
- Assessments with Jennifer Harvey Sallin cost 725 Swiss Francs, and can be conducted in English, French or Italian. Jennifer typically has an 8-10 month waiting list.
- Assessments with Silver Huang cost 700 Australian Dollars, and are conducted in English. Silver typically has a 2-4 month waiting list.
- Adapted/Customized Assessments: the first session is booked at the regular assessment rate, and follow-up sessions are charged at Jennifer's or Silver's hourly fee (250 Swiss Francs and 225 Australian Dollars, respectively).
- (Note: We are currently in the process of training new giftedness assessors for our assessment team; this should help reduce wait times for assessments starting in 2020).
SCHEDULE & GET STARTED
Email us at coaching@intergifted.com or via our contact form below and we will get back with you right away to help you with the next steps of scheduling an assessment with us. If you have any trouble with the form submission below, or you don't hear back from us within two to three business days of submitting the form, please email us directly at coaching@intergifted.com.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
The assessment with Jen was like re-discovering myself with someone who could see me, articulate that which I couldn’t and validate it. The intense and ‘different’ parts of who I am have been kept in the peripheral and the assessment helped me bring them to the forefront with someone who has the authority and the compassion to say “I see you, and you’re okay”. Learning that there’s a reason for my sensitivities, and finally having a place or a label for the structures of my thoughts and reactions was like one giant exhale. Jen is kind, ridiculously smart and overall, a true badass. The assessment is an investment that I’d highly recommend to anyone with a subtle inner knowing that they’re different but who doesn’t have the tools or expertise to be able to pinpoint the how’s/what’s and why’s of it.
Rebecca - Australia
Rob - USA
Karin - Canada
I just want to say I think it’s incredible that Silver self discovered such a vast understanding of the human mind and that she is a true inspiration to me and I am sure many others too. Really there is nothing more pleasant than hearing (and feeling) another mind dig deep into what is and what isn’t. It makes so much sense what she said. I feel so much clarity and now a sense of relief actually and I thoroughly look forward to her report and to future sessions with her. It was amazing, truly!
George - US
I definitely feel I have benefited from my assessment session with Silver. Personally I think she does a refreshingly good job articulating the various “concepts” of gifted cognition and she managed to do so by specifically making sense of what applies to me. In general, I appreciate the way she explained everything during the call. As I reflect more, I realize that she was able to grasp and understand the reasoning/implications of what I was saying which subconsciously allowed me to explain how I really think. I almost always filter my communication with other people. In a lot of ways I feel accurately assessed and understood which is heartening. I feel she did a lovely job understanding the whole picture and also explaining everything to me, so I really appreciate it. I’ve have quite a positive experience working with her and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to work/learn more from her in the future as well.
Aishwarya - Singapore
I worked with Jen in coaching for a while before daring to ask for a giftedness level assessment. I was really scared because I don’t want to feel like I’m “better” than anyone, but in coaching I was realizing that I was avoiding understanding myself by avoiding knowing about my gifted profile. So, we scheduled an assessment session, and it was life-changing. I realized that I am exceptionally gifted and highly empathic, and as a woman, sometimes those aspects of myself have worked in competition with each other. I want to be smart and move ahead at my speed, but I want to care for everyone and never make others suffer. Jen has helped me realize that I have a right and a real need to express my exceptionally gifted self, but that with self-awareness, I can also learn to do so in ways that does not hurt others. This is a huge revelation, and Jen and I are continuing to work on it in our coaching sessions. It’s hard to believe that, after 20 years of therapy, my life could change so much in just a half-year of knowing Jen! Thank you Jen.
Eve - Belgium
Vincent - Quebec
Katherine - UK
It’s hard to describe what happened to me when I did my assessment with Jen. It was like a whole split in my life happened, in a good way. I couldn’t believe that she was able to read me and my mind so clearly, and it was hard to hold in my tears of relief throughout our entire session. Perhaps most helpful was that she was not only able to see into my mind and describe it with crystal clarity, but she was able to help me see what I could do concretely in my life to make room for my full flourishing. I had had an IQ test ages before, and it had never helped me understand my mind or what to do with it in my real life. Now I feel like I have a manual for myself and a map of where to go and how to get there.
Claire - Norway
I have dyslexia and always thought I was less smart than others. It always made me feel inferior. When I learned I was highly gifted in my assessment with Jen, it suddenly made sense that while I hadn’t done well at school, I still had a meta-mind. Jen helped me find resources for managing the dyslexia and I can already see a huge shift in my self-perception. I now know that I am smart, and not inferior (although not superior either), and as I learn tricks to better manage the dyslexia, I find I am so much better able to express myself. One of the best things that has happened as a result of the assessment is that I’m no longer ashamed to ask for help and special accommodations for my challenges. At the age of 52, this comes as a huge relief. I’ve had to deal with some grief following the assessment, becoming aware of how many years I had wasted feeling bad about myself and not understanding myself. But that has been healing too as I realise that I’ve been doing the best I can for myself all these years, and it can only get better from here.
Alexander - Canada
My internal world is quickly and completely re-organising after an assessment and just two coaching sessions with Silver Huang. Debilitating self-doubt clouded my ability to see myself as others see me, or understand that I have unusual abilities and extremely specific needs. Silver’s accurate perception has met my needs with the grace, raw honesty, and energy required to generate a self-healing process. After a forty years spent in hot pursuit of self-actualisation, work with Silver provided the immediate and novel opportunity to recognise, value, and trust my own gifts. Silver’s assessment skills are profound – this woman delivers. I sense unanticipated possibilities for this life; confident I will be well counselled during the journey ahead.
Ellen - USA
My assessment session with Jen was great. I felt excitement and joy afterwards. For the first time I did not have to lie to myself to be able to relate to another person. That was really confusing at first, but I realised that feeling that way is a really good thing. Thanks Jen.
Yungda - The Netherlands
Thierry - France
I cannot thank Silver enough for this assessment. It is more than an evaluation, it’s a piece of Art. I was very nervous during our session and she did so well to put me at ease. I could feel physically this non-verbal communication that gifted people have flowing between us and energising-relaxing me. And it was a lot of fun too! I can’t explain but there were many layers to our communication that I could feel in my body. Her relational diagram is so accurate! Reading the report has helped me to understand better what you explained and I have felt things in my body reorganising since we spoke, it’s what you put together so well about my body and senses. How could she learn so much and so deeply about me? I am very happily surprised. This is incredible. Thank you so much.
Julio - UK
Brady - UK