What is the accuracy of the AQ test?

Only just got around to doing the test.

No great surprises!

  172 for Neurodiversity, 28 for Neurotypical.  I am probably an aspie! 

No 'probably' about it!  I am autistic and proud!

Hello all,

I need to spend time with this thread- will catch it tomorrow, but I've seen comments already that it's difficult to answer some of the questions. I got my AQ test paper in the post from my GP today and some of the questions are difficult to gauge too. For example with memory. I had a great memory 20-30 years ago and could reel of phone numbers and all sorts of stuff but my memory isn't anywhere near as good now. Hmmm! I'm stuck.

Reading what you have said in this reply echoes my thoughts on how do I know if I stim? I know that I shush my finger and kiss my knuckle 3 times when I score a goal on my Fifa game or when I watch my football team on tv score but I doubt if that is stimming. I do it because it feels good.

I guess only someone observing me would know if I I'm stimming. My wife says I make annoying noises when I get excited there again I don't know if this is stimming as I haven't been assessed as of yet. 

Hi lovely and sorry to hear that your work life is causing so many issues at the moment.

Still seeking a diagnosis and still trying to save pennies to pay privately - I don't think I could stand the prospect of waiting years in the queue when I feel that so much time has been wasted already.   But, here I am, drifting along on the forum puzzling life out in my own Aspie existential way!

Hi Ellie

Good to hear from you and I hope you are well. 

I have been off the forums for a while and I know you were considering a diagnosis at one point. Are you still looking to pursue one?

I don't think it matters either way unless you need it to help with support and that can be limited at best.

Yes I have been diagnosed with ASD and the results shared were what I did before I seeked a diagnosis.

One thing I will say is as much as doing these tests is to be more self aware and to gain answers, I found that I wasn't as self aware as I perceived myself to be.

For example I didn't realise my sensitivity issues because I thought all people suffered the same, they were just better at dealing with it. Also due to the bad information on ASD and stimming, I thought stimming was purely flapping your hands so because I thought I didn't do that (apparently I do I just never notice) I assumed that stimming was something I never did when if fact I do it a lot and I don't always realise. Interpreting things literally again is something else I thought I didn't do much, but after speaking to others they stated that this is something I do all the time and is very frustrating for them.

So the test as I say is a good starting point, but as you can see in my case I wasn't aware of some of my traits so it won't be 100% accurate which is why a professional diagnosis can be so important for some people.

Hi Starbuck

This is mine from months ago. I’m undiagnosed btw.

If you don't mind me asking have you been diagnosed with an ASD?

What a great thread which has turned into a top trumps, but I am not complaining.  This quiz is what spurred me on to seek a diagnosis after struggling all my life.

Neurodiverse score -122/200

Neurotypical score - 69/200

You are very likely neurodiverse

I would recommend it to anyone who suspects they might be on the spectrum or just want to rule it out.  It's a good starting point if nothing else.

This is a great quiz I scored as follows - 

Neurodiverse score -125/200

Neurotypical score - 72/200

You are very likely neurodiverse.

AQ score consistently over 42+.

I am currently undiagnosed awaiting my screening appointment.

my AQ score was 39.

Got diagnosed earlier this month

Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 123 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 69 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)

i got a 90% probability on that one.

I've missed the 30-minute cut-off to edit my post. Never mind, I'll post anyway.

I'm always suggesting people try the five-dimensional RDOS:

http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

It includes some of those newer-recognised characteristics like sensory sensitivity, but separately. Makes me think I'm in the awkward corner of autism, out on an elbow as it were.

I'd heard a few months ago from a psychologist speaker that there was accumulating evidence that the AQ and EQ were not particularly accurate or useful. I'm not sure what that was based on. Professionals do all agree though that the AQ is no substitute for a face-to-face interview.

I just retook the AQ and got 26. I think it's been pretty middling before. I find a lot of the questions hard to decide. For instance, question 1, "I prefer to do things with others rather than on my own."  Well, does it mean do things with others where there's a choice, or does it mean prefer normally social activities, like cinema, to solitary ones like reading? I'd prefer to do activities with other people where possible, but (a) I may choose a film no one else is interested in; (b) I just may not be able to find anyone to go.

I think this article by Cynthia Kim is pretty good:
https://musingsofanaspie.com/2012/11/27/taking-the-autism-spectrum-quotient-aq-test/
It mentions this indeterminacy and possible false negatives (not detecting some people who are autistic), alongside several other caveats, like a possible gender bias. (The scores for autistic women are similar to autistic men, but different for NTs, suggesting women may find it harder to get diagnosed, which we know is true.) It also gives the source for the graph that's been posted in this thread.

I've just found a detailed technical analysis by Lundqvist & Lindner, 2017:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5487751/

For one thing, unless I'm misreading a skim through, it suggests that 'definitely' should score more than 'slightly'. As it is the AQ is a series of simple binary choices, where 'definitely' and 'slightly' are redundant. It also does what is called a PCA (principal component analysis) which breaks a mass of data into different dimensions, that is independent factors, in this case it finds three. Only one is actually definitely related to an autism diagnosis. So it really boils down to these questions:

I frequently find that I don’t know how to keep a conversation going.
I would rather go to a library than a party.
I find it hard to make new friends.
New situations make me anxious.
-
I find social situations easy.
I enjoy social occasions.
I enjoy meeting new people.
I enjoy social chit-chat.
I am good at social chit-chat.
In a social group, I can easily keep track of several different people’s conversations.
I find it easy to do more than one thing at once.
I enjoy doing things spontaneously.

Out of that lot, I get 9 out of 12. I also suggest that autism itself is multi-dimensional, which is supported by the spectrum and constellation ideas.

Yes that graph does explain the findings easier. My wife has done the test twice, with a few months in between and has scored under 20 both times. I have a consistent score of 36 both times ( despite trying to score low the second time) . I did receive a diagnosis of dyslexia as a child so most of my “different” characteristics were always taken as a “dyslexic thing” or because I was “ very creative”. Thanks for the replies and help, a lot of things are starting to drop into place.

Oh wow! That's really interesting! I have a thread over on the introduction forum which explains my situation but that picture you've posted has really piqued my interest, I'll be honest whilst a lot of the symptoms have resonated me I've not been able to shake the doubt that I'm just using a label to excuse my behaviour. I did the AQ test and think I hit around 32 the first time (the latest time 35) but I doubted it, in my head I was saying that I bet most people would answer similar as it's normal etc, I sorta convinced myself it was a load of rubbish so last night I got the other half to do it and it proper shocked me at how low her score were, it was 13. That diagram sorta highlights it a lot. Wow. 

There's also the EQ test. 

Both are used in Baron-Cohen's Adult Autistic Assesment (AAA) diagnostic tool.  The test results alone do not give you a diagnosis - they indicate if it's worth going for a diagnosis.

If you undergo diagnosis using AAA, then the answers you give in the test will be the basis for detailed further questioning - the Psychologist/Psychiatrist will then decide if you fit the criteria for a positive diagnosis (and may also suggest diagnosis or additional co-morbid disorders, such as dyspraxia or dyslexia).

It is possible, as with any test, to give what you think are the 'right' answers, but the detailed questioning is much harder to fool.

I should add that the AAA currently only fits in with DSM-IV, which is not the latest benchmark of Autism - that is DSM5.  I've heard that AAA is being updated to fit in with DSV5, but a diagnosis using the current version would still be valid once the new version comes out.

I think you're looking for the diagram below. 

It should be clear from this why they set the threshold at 32. 

There is a possibility your score is a false positive, but given the context of a family member who has been diagnosed, and multiple friends and family who seem to think you share characteristics... 

Welcome to the forums.

(Asperger's Syndrome, my adult son was diagnosed years ago, my youngest is probably also on the spectrum)