Could you help me determine if I am autistic?

Post Reply New Topic

I have not been diagnosed, but am not sure if I can consider myself autistic.

To the extent that anyone on the internet can do something like that, I think AspieQuiz.com is great.

None of us are professionals, the only way to determine if you are autistic is to be tested for it. If you want to find out, get yourself tested. The online tests are pre-prescreening to help yourself figure out if there is maybe a possibility.

The University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre tests are screening tests, and have been verified worldwide as accurate. They and their scoring keys are downloadable from the ARC web site. To get started, try out its core Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test at Wired magazine ( http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html ). It is self-scoring.

Even so, it is a screening and not a diagnosis. People can have autistic traits without being autistic. Only a professional can determine if you're autistic or not.

You are asking a group of untrained and unlicensed strangers to diagnose you without even knowing you. Only appropriately-trained and licensed mental-health professionals can make an official diagnosis of an ASD. There are no such professionals on this website; and if there were, they would require a series if in situ interviews before making even a tentative diagnosis. Online tests can not provide an objective ASD diagnosis either, and can serve only as a screening tool to determine the possibility that you might have an ASD.

Actually, there are such professionals at WrongPlanet.net. I agree, however, that none of them would agree to diagnosis online. I don't believe that the OP was asking for a diagnosis as much as our various opinions about whether he or she should pursue an assessment for diagnosis. I would recommend using screening tests as part of the body of knowledge that would determine whether or not the OP should pursue such an assessment.


Yes, screening tests (online or otherwise) are just that: screening tests. Studies of screening-test reliability including one from the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre ( http://docs.autismresearchcentre.com/pa ... lation.pdf ) and another in the journal Pediatrics ( http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/01/ ... ning/18992 ) suggest strongly that such screening tests yield considerably more information than merely "the possibility that you might have an ASD." But, if screening tests enjoyed absolutely no evidence of probability (only possibility), they wouldn't be recommended for use as a first step in the diagnostic process, would they? And yet, they exist in clinical work and research.

Furthermore, WrongPlanet.net has made it abundantly clear that self-diagnosed, self-aware or merely curious individuals are welcome here. Self awareness and self diagnosis exists. It is considered to have some degree of validity. Among those for whom a professional diagnosis is: 1) prohibitively costly, 2) geographically distant, 3) difficult because, as adults, such a diagnosis can often be incomplete or wrong altogether, or 4) completely unnecessary because they neither seek nor desire governmental, educational or corporate assistance and supports beyond a personal desire to know, a professional diagnosis will do little for them whereas a screening test result might be all they need to better understand themselves. In light of all these facts, the argument that self diagnosis is anything less than a legitimate step in the right direction toward personal self awareness or professional diagnosis is getting tedious and tiresome here. And, jumping on new members for asking about themselves is insulting, in my opinion.

It's not "jumping on" to point out none of us can determine for sure they are autistic. We can provide screenings, help them interpret the results and whether testing is of benefit, but none of us can say they are autistic. If being informative is "jumping on" I really don't know how to give advice.

It is not insulting to say something to the effect that to OP is looking in the wrong place, and that he or she would obtain better results elsewhere.

Of course, you could always use the 'Report' button to make sure that the mods know about our efforts. Dog forbid that such good intentions should go unpunished.

Anyway, I took an AQ test and got a score of 30, a ''borderline score". I relate to most of it, but don't have the penchant or love of numbers, the lack of empathy, or the inability to recognize faces.
Thanks for responding.

OP, we really can't diagnose you here.. It does require a trained professional to make the judgment as to whether or not you have it. However, I still encourage you to read through the topics/ forums here in order to gain more information. And the things you just posted about 'lack of empathy, love of numbers' etc are not true of every single person on the spectrum. You'll find that we are incredibly varied.
Welcome to wp, by the way

Thanks. I always have this problem with poor choice of words, poor consideration when trying to communicate. I have the clumsiness problem as well.
I am extremely dissociated, introverted and obsessive.
I do have perfectionism and exceptional verbal memory which gave me an edge in school, I got through elementary-7th grade effortlessly, but somewhere along the way things just got too stressful for me, I couldn't take it, I dropped out after 9th grade with no plans for the future.
All of the experiences I have had with Aspies online have been extremely pleasant, the most pleasant encounters I have ever had, actually.

I also don't have the hypersensitivity that many Aspies have.

The AQ test had a threshold score of 32 originally, then it was lowered to 26. After a huge survey of worldwide studies, it is 35-36. Your score of 30 could still be considered "borderline" especially if other characteristics are present. No single screening test is too helpful. Try the Cambridge Empathy Quotient (EQ) ( http://www.aspietests.org/eq/questions.php ), the Cambridge Systemizing Quotient (SQ) ( http://www.aspietests.org/sq/questions.php ) and the Aspie Quiz ( http://www.rdos.net/eng/ ).


These characteristics suggest anxiety, obsessions and compulsions which can occur with ASD, or apart from it. Australian ASD specialist and author Tony Atwood, Ph.D., has listed an exhaustive list of characteristics ( http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/index.php/about-aspergers ) which also might help you discover your own.

In any case, good luck!

Umm... I didn't read the comments above cuz it was way to long... But basically, I learned that all it does when you're diagnosed is it proves why you think in certain ways. But if you know you have some autistic traits, you already know why you may feel different or something. And at the end of the day, labelling yourself as autistic or not wont change anything because there are lodes of degrees to autism anyway and most of the young people who have autistic traits aren't diagnosed. So it's up to you to see. Good luck

a diagnosis can also make it easier (or possible at all) to get help with your specific difficulties, it can do more than just explain some things.

that said, i'll indeed repeat that all we on WP, with all our experience as aspies and/or professionals, can only state whether specific traits may or may not indicate an ASD; the same holds true for the online tests as the AQ and the Aspie Quiz.

the true diagnostic process is intensive and takes a long time; only a face-to-face professional can do that, there is no way to get a real diagnosis while avoiding contact with official organizations.