Published on 12, July, 2020
Just did the AQ test, http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/features/take-the-autism-test/
scored 36 btw.
A couple of the questions were hard to answer,
I find it difficult to imagine what it would be like to be someone else.
I find it difficult to work out people's intentions.
Both of these things I find easy, basically I think they are pointless and most people usually get them wrong so they are not worth doing. No problem.
When I'm reading a story, I find it difficult to work out the characters' intentions.
Same here, just read the story, no problem. Why work out the characters intentions, they are not real anyway.
I tend to have very strong interests, which I get upset about if I can't pursue.
I have strong interests, but why get upset ? getting upset is pointless and illogical.
I find it hard to make new friends.
No, I dont try. I dont find it hard at all, I dont want new friends.
I find it easy to do more than one thing at once.
depends what it is. Multitabling poker or playing a chess simul is very easy. Talking is distracting, obviously.
People often tell me that I keep going on and on about the same thing.
Odd question, if you were autistic would you be talking to people often ?
Other people frequently tell me that what I've said is impolite, even though I think it is polite
Well I guess they would if I tried to live in polite society and had lots of conversations, but I dont.
I agree with Scorpion. These questionaires are only meant to be a very rough indicator that it might be something you should follow up. When I did it sometime ago I also thought there were some that I didn't fit either way with was an uncomfortable feeling.
There is one on the SQ about organising a fete! I thought there is no way I would do that as it involves a lot of ringing people and asking them to do things urgh!!
There is also a more complex view from Simon Baron-Cohen now on empathy, since he wrote the EQ which is quite an old "test". Empathy is different rather than lacking with me, what is lacking is social understanding if a situation is not one I have learnt about intellectually.
The "test" I really couldn't do at all was the one on friendship - I kept saying - neither, not relevant.
This is why you can't be diagnosed via a questionnairre!
I takes a trained psychologist, who can interpret your answers to such questions, to come up with a diagnosis.
Why not just enjoy the story? Ok, so it can be fun to try and guess where the story's going and have theories about who might not be who they say they are. I'm a writer myself, so I get that. But I like to be absorbed in the world I'm reading about. I'd fit in better in a fairy tale than I do in real life.
What gets me about tests like this is questions that say: "People/My friends describe me as (one word, or a list from which to tick one)" Short answer - they don't. Primarily because I don't talk to them long enough. And all my friends are imaginary.
This was the one I found odd. I have read many books and studied English Literature, but never thought I had to work out the characters' intentions.