In order of your questions or points:
- My experience with learners on the autism spectrum is that very high-functioning ones often are able to perform quite well on Comprehension, as it doesn't measure how you actually perform on social communication and interaction tasks--only how well you are able to articulate the conventions for doing so. Obviously, you have consistently demonstrated very high language-based intelligence, so learning how to use language to describe a set of conventions isn't necessarily a greater challenge than any other set of rules. I often see a disparity between Comprehension and rating scales of those same learners' IRL application of the conventions.
- I've also observed that, quite often ASD learners become increasingly testable as they become more conversant in the conventions of standardized testing over the years, and in the conventions NT learners use to ask and respond to questions. Consequently, striking increases in test scores are not all that unusual (in particular, many others have observed that tests requiring pointing-only responses seem especially confusing in the early years--perhaps there is insufficient context and corrective feedback). So it's a dramatic rise, but not unprecedented in this population. And yes, PCn has been aligned with FR on the newest edition of the WISC. But in my experience, it also seems to be easily interpreted by divergent thinkers in ways not anticipated by the scoring criteria.
- Glad to hear you're starting to find yourself attracted to some specific areas. I have some memories of my biophysics (mostly macromolecules and fluid dynamics) coursework--I can imagine some possibilities there for you. Keep an open mind, and continue exploring new topics; I think you'll begin to see patterns in your interests and best fits.
- I probably wouldn't bother interpreting the GAI in addition to the VCI. It's too broad a range of index and subtest scores feeding into it. And you don't need a similarly high GAI to validate classification as PG with 2e features (you have at least one identified second exceptionality, in the form of ASD).
It sounds like you've had a good term in school. I'm happy for you!
