Published on 12, July, 2020
I've finally got my report from my NHS assessment.
It's shorter than I expected. Just a 2 page letter.
However, it does contain my score which was 175 (above the diagnostic threshold of 65).
I found this site which explains the score and gives some averages (+ a link to take the test).
https://embrace-autism.com/raads-r/
So, I was a little above the average for an autistic female.
If anyone would like to share their scores, it would be interesting.
A quote below from my letter:
'completed the RAADS-R: the RITVO Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale –revised: this 80-item diagnostic interview consists of questions designed for individuals with averageIQ and above. This is a population with mild or subclinical ASD and these individuals often escapediagnosis. The RAADS-R was specifically designed to capture that population. Any score of 65 orabove indicates a high likelihood of Autism Spectrum Disorder, provided the clinical presentation isconvergent with this diagnosis'
I already have a diagnosis but I hadn’t tried this test before hand, only the AQ50. I just did it, some of the questions are annoying, especially the whole strange before 16 or after. Though to be fair most of my answers were either side of that. I scored 199.
I scored 186. Surprising because a) I don't consider my autistic problems to be very significant, and b) because the set questions were so unbendingly one-dimensional that my answers weren't necessarily as extreme as the proffered options. The questioners seem to assume that our behaviours, reactions, feelings and attitudes remain entirely the same at all times.
I just don't understand why my test scores are always much more concerning than I anticipate when, if anything, I often give NT-slanted answers if I feel the questions are too vague or too rigid or extreme.
PS. My assessment isn't due 'til the Summer. I feel like my advisers, as kind as they are, aren't telling me their opinions about the actual depth of my issues.
Yes, you're completely right, I think.
I don’t think my score was surprising to me. I’m really rubbish at the whole social aspect. But I agree there is a problem with the answers, on some questions at least. Like the prefer to go to a restaurant to eat alone - I’d prefer not to go to a restaurant at all, but if I had to go to satisfy the questions I wouldn’t want to go alone because I can’t cope with places I don’t know, so I’d have to take one of my kids, not a friend as I don’t have any. But others related to me so much that I didn’t even have to think about it.