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What is the accuracy of the AQ test?

roper

As we have been exploring and understanding my sons position of being on the autistic spectrum it has also been suggested I am too, friends and family.  I have done the AQ test several times, over a period of a few months. On my own and with my wife. My average score suggests there is a likelihood that I am on the spectrum. Over 32 under 50.

How accurate is this test and it’s findings?

There are quite a few characteristics I have which also seem to connect with autism , other than the test but I am just trying to piece together the pieces at this stage.

Thanks  for any advice on the test.

Parents

  • 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.

  • in reply to Cassandro

    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.

Reply
  • in reply to Cassandro

    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.

Children