Some questions I have trouble answering on the AQ test

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There are some questions I have trouble answering on the AQ test.

Q5. I often notice small sounds when others do not.

A5. How am I supposed to know what someone else notices? If I ask someone if they notice a sound I have brought their attention to it so I wouldn't know if they noticed before I asked them or only after I asked them.

Q6. I usually notice car number plates or similar strings of information.

A6. Erm.. Yes, I usually notice car number plates. I don't get why this is significant. It's not like I memorise them or anything, but they're right there on the car, how can you miss them?

Q7. Other people frequently tell me that what I've said is impolite, even though I think it is polite.

A7. Well…no, I can't remember people telling me I'm impolite, at least not since I was a teenager, but then people hardly say anything to me these days. I get funny looks from people sometimes, is that the same thing? I think I just don't say anything impolite, because I rarely talk to people unless they as me something.

Q9. I am fascinated by dates.

A9. Is that the fruit, the day/month/year or a social meeting with a girl/guy? I'm fascinated with the question "how do I get a date with a girl". Does that count?

Q12. I tend to notice details that others do not.

A12. As with the sounds, how do I know what someone else notices? If I notice a detail and point it out, I will have drawn the other persons attention to it. I'm not in the habit of asking people if they noticed some detail before I pointed it out to them.

Q20. When I'm reading a story, I find it difficult to work out the characters' intentions.

A20. I really don't read much fiction, but when I do I don't remember trying to work out characters' intentions. Does that mean I just don't struggle or does it mean I don't care what the persons intentions are? I don't know. It just doesn't seem important to me at the time. It's either easy or I don't do it at all.

Q29. I am not very good at remembering phone numbers.

A29. I remember all the phone numbers I need to, Mum/Dad, work, emergency… I could count the numbers on my hands so I don't feel that it's an exceptional feat of memory.

Q30. I don't usually notice small changes in a situation or a person's appearance.

A30. If I didn't notice how would I know I hadn't noticed?


Does anyone else find some of the questions difficult?

Does the fact I spend time analysing these questions affect the validity of my final response?

With the questions I'm unsure about (this isn't the full list) I could score anywhere between 28 and 42 by changing my answers. I understand the test isn't a diagnosis, but I would like to understand whether I have a borderline Aspie score or a more severe Aspie score.


Any thoughts? Is there already a thread somewhere discussing the AQ test in detail?

Thanks in advance.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert, and these are just personal opinions. If in doubt, ask a professional

Sometimes you have to think laterally with the aspie quiz questions, rather than literally... which isn't very helpful!! !! The AQ questions are a bit better designed I reckon, but that's just me.

Q5... I guess the thrust of the question is stuff like do you notice the sound of fridge running? Or the high-pitched noise of the TV when it switches on? Do background noises disturb your concentration? That kind of thing.

Q6... do you feel your attention being drawn to to the license plates? As an example... do you notice patterns in the numbers/letters if there are any there?

Q7... did it happen a lot when you were younger? If so you could answer yes maybe, but it's your call, just answer what feels right

Q9... dates as in day/month/year

Q12... yeah, comparison questions are a bit of a grind... do you notice small details, as examples... changes in the way your Granny has her ornaments arranged on the shelf, or minor mistakes in someone else's calculations or grammar?

Q20... based on what you said I'd answer yes, because as you say, either it's easy or you don't do it

Q29... I guess that's a "no" answer - some of the questions are swapped around on the quiz, so that negative answers sometimes score positively for autistic traits - they do that so you can't just go through it and answer yes to everything just to get a result

Q30... that doesn't matter so much... I guess the point is if you do notice, then it's a yes

Yeah, I struggled through it the first time. But since I've gone through it with friends a few times since, I've started to realize that it's not 100% perfect (although it is very good), and that sometimes you just have to think around the questions, to relate them to your own personal experience.

I think if you feel you want to analyse the questions to answer them well, then that's fair enough. That's good for the validity of the result, as long as you give honest answers, and don't try to fix the result by giving the "right" answers to come out with a high score for instance. All the best with it!

Thanks Robin.

In some cases I was probably just being pedantic, like on Q9, so that probably means it's a yes to Q12. I find spelling and grammatical errors irritating (though I make plenty myself) and I also go nuts with ambiguities. If there are more that one interpretations to a question even if think I know what is meant I can't help pointing out the other option(s). I guess that is what is meant by the details.

On Q5 if the question is about irritating noises, then yes. I notice the fridge, dripping taps, the hiss of the gas heater, high-pitched noise from old CRT monitors. I've rebuilt my PC several times trying to get rid of fan noise. I eventually just changed for an iMac which is almost quiet out of the box.

Q6, no, I'm not drawn to number plates, at least not unless they spell something. Though saying that I guess I must be looking at them to notice them spelling things, so maybe yes after all. :-S

On Q7 I don't think I have really been caught saying anything impolite, but now I think about it, I was often told to say please and thank-you (still am if I'm honest), so perhaps what I don't say rather than what I do say is sometimes impolite.

You've helped me answer some of them better, so thanks again.

I suspect I could increase my score by around 10% by answering from my point of view of a five year old. There are responses there that have changed as I've better learnt to understand the world.

Same problem. I sometimes just think someones mind is the polar opposite of mine or exactly the same. But I can never know how someone else's mind works. Nobody can. It is impossible. I know, because people often misunderstand me. And I can never predict other's behaviours because there are too many variables to consider I don't have and people don't react the same every time and they react differently to different people and sometimes it is a good response and sometimes it isn't and it is hard to understand and I am already confused because of writing this.