Do you ever wish you could take an autism quiz to figure out if you’re on the spectrum?

It’s not quite that simple.

But it’s a preliminary step to gathering information about yourself.

Dr. Debra Moore, in chapter 4 of The Nine Degrees of Autism, says that undiagnosed autism adults start to learn about autism via news articles, movies about autism, and various autism blogs.

If you’re wondering whether you might be autistic, taking an online autism quiz is a first step toward deciding whether to pursue a more official diagnosis.

Dr. Moore points out both the benefits and limitations of taking online autism quizzes.

Benefits of Taking an Autism Quiz

1. Reducing denial.  When you’re first thinking about autism, you may feel ambivalent.  But as you take the quiz, you’ll see questions that may reflect your life experiences to date, and the answers may open you up to the need for more information.
2. Learning more about autism.  The questions themselves will acquaint you with how autism manifests in people’s life.

Autism Quiz Limitations

Read these limitations and you’ll understand that taking an online autism quiz is a start, but not definitive.

As per Dr. Moore:

1. You’ll be answering most of the questions based on self observation.  If you have blind spots, or don’t understand the question completely, you may get different results.   This is why I’ve recommended that a client who may have autism take the quiz, but that another family member who knows the client well also take the quiz with the client in mind.
2. Few of the autism quizzes have been tested on statistically large sample sizes.  Therefore, the quiz reliability (the extent to which an experiment, test, or measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated trials), and validity (the extent to which the quiz measures what it purports to measure) may be questionable.
3. Online autism quizzes do not differentiate between autism and other conditions.  For example, if an items says, “I have difficulty in social situations,” is that because of autism or social anxiety?

So, keep the above points in mind, and use autism quizzes as one step in your journey toward a more comprehensive evaluation.

Online Autism Self-Screening Instruments:

Asperger’s Quotient Test (AQ Test)

Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues at Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre, developed this tool in 2001. 

This questionnaire lets you pick “definitely” or “slightly” agree or disagree with 50 statements assessing areas of social skill, attention switching, attention to detail, communication and imagination.  You can get this ‘quiz’ as an iPhone app. 

Per Dr. Moore, of those who have been diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s, 80% score 32 or higher, compared to only 2% of the control group.

Adult Asperger’s Assessment (AAA)

In this quiz, you simple agree or disagree with descriptive statements.  The test was modeled on the diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV.  It includes questions to prevent false positive results.

[A false positive is an error in some evaluation process in which a condition tested for is mistakenly found to have been detected. In spam filters, for example, a false positive is a legitimate message mistakenly marked as UBE –unsolicited bulk email, as junk email is more formally known.  (definition via whatis.com) ]

Empathy Quotient (EQ)

Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues developed this 60-item questionnaire to test for accurate empathy.  There are 20 “filler” questions, and 40 questions which assess for empathy.  “Of those diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s, 80% of adults score less than 80, compared to only 10% of controls.  (Dr. Debra Moore) ”

At the Autism Research Centre, Dr. Baron-Cohen lists both the adult and adolescent versions for this quiz.

The Aspie Quiz 

Leif Ekblad, a Swedish systems programmer designed this popular online quiz.

Mr. Ekblad designed the quiz to look at neurodiverse traits.  The computer-scored test gives you a report and presents the results in a graph.  Even though a scientific research didn’t develop this test, you may learn whether your neurological style is more “Aspergers” or “non-Aspergers.”

The Ritvo Autism Aspergers’ Diagnostic Scale (RAADS)

Ritvo developed this test in 2008 and revised it in 2010.  It’s 0 questions measure areas of social relatedness, circumscribed interest, language, and sensory motor functioning.

For more reading:

Taking the Autism Quotient Test (Cynthia Kim’s experience taking the test)

Taking the RAADS test (Cynthia Kim’s experience of taking the test).

Taking the Aspie Quiz  (Cynthia Kim’s experience of taking the test).

A more scientific writeup about the RAADS test.

Downloadable autism tests from the Autism Research Centre.

Let me know your thoughts!  Are there any other online autism quizzes I left out?  Please comment below.