Take the AQ test

Via Ry and Wired Magazine. Take The AQ Test:

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger’s report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives.

I scored a 23.  Ry scored 13.

Aspergers is closely related to Autism.

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8 thoughts on “Take the AQ test

  1. 32, but the scoring system is bullshit because Definitely Agree and Slightly Agree (and the disagrees) are weighted at one point each if it corresponds with Asbergers and 0 if they aren’t. It may as well be just agree/disagree because the weights are all the same no matter how much you agree or disagree. What they should do is assign values for each of the 4 options depending on how much it corresponds, like 2 for strongly positive, 1 for slightly positive, 0 for slightly negative, and -1 for strongly negative.

  2. Yup. Most of those test types have numerous flaws. Others include defining what the various words are. What is “difficult” to some might be described as “within normal limits” to others.

  3. My time in ctlt gave me an appreciation of how hard it is to write an interesting survey. There are problems with the Likert scale – most people will pick the middle value if it exists, and forgo the extremes on either end. You can get around the first part by using a scale with an even number of choices; the degenerate version of this is a true/false quiz.

  4. 27, but I frequently found the lack of an “I really don’t care” answer to be a flaw in the test.

  5. I took it yesterday and scored a 13. I took it again today and scored a 32. I don’t know if it is a difference of moods or the way I read the questions, but I do agree they need a “neutral” option.

  6. 33 for Stephanie — but what the fuck kind of statement is:
    “I find it difficult to imagine what it would be like to be someone else.”

    Anyhoo, some Asperger types are closely linked to Sensory Integration Dysfunction (or overfunction, I prefer to call it). Some of the statements/questions on the AQ Test parallel Sensory Integration Dysfunction, er, Overload.

    Some say there are more than 5 senses and I’d say that makes sense. If you are interested, the sum of some of this is here:
    http://special-needs.families.com/blog/sensory-integration-disorder-just-what-exactly-is-it

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