Thoughts on the AQ Test

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Awhile ago, there were some threads about Simon Baron Cohen. As I know his work mostly through the AQ test, I thought I´d start this thread based on some of the thoughts I had about it...basically, several of the questions in there surprised me, and I wouldn´t have thought they would indicate AS, necessarily. In addition, I would have asked some other questions that weren´t in there. Some of the answers downright confused me. For instance:

"If I try to imagine something, I find it very easy to create a picture in my mind"- One gets an autistic point for saying "no". However, it is well known and well documented that many people with AS think visually, so obviously they can make a picture in their mind....As for myself, when I try to create a picture in my mind, I can only see little parts of it...for instance, if I try to see a cat, I may see the tail, or half of the face. If I try to "step back" and see the whole thing, the image goes blurry. I can literally see small details, but not the big picture. So does that mean that it´s very easy, or very hard for me to see a picture? Am I supposed to be able to see something as clearly as I would in real life? How the heck can I answer this question if I have no idea how well other people can create a picture in their mind? I have nothing to compare my experience to.

"I am not very good at remembering people´s date of birth"- ...Well, actually, that´s true, I am quite crap at remembering people´s birthdays (aside from immediate family members). I always thought that was something that socially adept people could do, but one gets a point for autism if one is good at remembering birthdays. Just curious if most AS people are good at this? Maybe it´s just me...

"I don´t usually notice small changes in a situation or a person´s appearance"- I wish they had specified an example of a small change in a situation, as I wasn´t sure what was meant by that. So, in answering the question I focused on whether or not I notice small changes in people´s appearances...the answer is yes, in fact I do...however, this is learned behavior! When I was younger and my autistic traits were stronger, I barely registered these things, as they were unimportant to me. Through the years, it became clear to me that it was important in social situations to notice, and remark upon people´s small changes in appearance- (haircuts, earrings). So, I became better at it. In fact, that was one of the social skills I learned. (?) So, to me this seemed backwards...

"I would rather go to the theater than to a museum"- In one version of the test, one got a point for autism if one said "yes", but in another version of the test I took (I did it 2 times), one got a point for saying "no", so I´m totally confused by that! Is there any reason why autistic people would prefer one over the other??? If so, why? As for me, this question was basically impossible to answer, as I really like doing both.

Just curious what others have to say about the AQ....

Hi, I agree with your perspective, although I'm self diagnosed Aspie so not sure my opinion counts especially as it's only recently I've been looking into this. I scored 37 on the test but found it very confusing. I would much rather go to the theatre than the cinema any day, but I think the test is suggesting that people with AS are more logical and science orientated and therefore would prefer a museum. I can see the logic in this reasoning, but it does seem rather steroetyped. There are many people with AS who are into TV, films theatres, the lot.

Yes the question about visual thinking confused me too. I'm not a great visual thinker so I scored the point, but my son is severely autistic and uses PECS to communicate. This would indicate he is a visual thinker yet he wouldn't score the point, which makes no sense.

I'm also crap at remembering dates of birth, and I've never had any interest in numbers or car licence plates. I know some people with autism do though.

I thought the test was very general and rather stereotyped. I much prefer the Aspie quiz as it is more detailed and relevant.

Just my 2 cents

I always thought I was good at visualisation, but as you say, it's difficult to tell that sort of thing since you can't watch anybody else's mental movies.

I like precision, so I've sometimes set myself to remember people's birthdays and when I do that I can, but a lot of the time things like that slip my mind.

His work is based of his 'extreme male brain' theory. Given he has come up with a theory and then tries to find evidence to back it up (you are meant to do science the other way), don't put too much weight on said theory.

If you don't fit into his stereotype you will answer many questions the 'wrong way'.

Having said that, I reckon Simon Baron Cohen's heart is in the right place for sure, just don't take his work too seriously because of the way he goes about it.

And yes the aspie quiz is better/more accurate

I know what you mean about some of the questions. I was diagnosed with Asperger's as an adult using the standard types of criteria, but on my own I took the Simon Baron Cohen tests. I also had my wife score what she thought I was on them too. For the AQ test, I scored myself at 42/50 which is considered very high. Most people with Asperger's or HFA score around 35. My wife scored me about the same as I did---maybe a point or two lower. Of course there are also the EQ and SQ tests where you can place yourself on a chart to see what brain type you have. For that, I hit the lower right square which was in the autism range---extreme type S. But yes, those questions can seem a little tricky at times.

I liked the Aspie quiz, for me the questions were just easier to answer, and I was able to do it pretty quickly. The only thing about that that was tricky was when I had to answer questions like "My sense of humor is unconventional" (something like that). I suspect that my sense of humor might be somewhat unconventional, however, I´m not totally sure about this as I don´t really know what brand of humor is considered "conventional", and it´s all a matter of preference anyway...

On the AQ, I got a 36, so I was in the AS section...I just didn´t always understand all the logic of the test. To me, it seemed like it was testing more "Geek Syndrome" than AS. I thought that it might not be a valid test for artistic types (like me), in some cases.

Yeah, redplanet, the question about noticing car license plates was weird for me; I, in fact, DO notice car license plates: if they flash in front of my vision, I feel compelled to read them. However, I am unable to retain the information as I´m horrible at remembering strings of numbers. So, although I may notice and read a license plate, if you ask me 5 minutes later what it said, I wouldn´t be able to tell you. I finally put "yes" to the question, as I figured if it was a test for autism, I had a right to take the questions literally! (They only said "notice", they didn´t specify "memorize" or "retain").

Another question that was odd: "I am more drawn to people than to things". Does subject matter- (special interests) count as a "thing"? Many autistic people are drawn to animals, so what about animals? Are "people" and "objects" the only 2 choices to this question????

Is the Aspie Quiz ever used as a screening test? I´ve only ever seen it here on Wrong Planet.

My thought is that there are different kinds of Asperger's. No two Aspie people are alike. I do have trouble visualizing. However my son, who also has Asperger's, is very visual and has a whole universe in his head that he has been 'working on' since jr. high school.

I get the museum vs. theater question. The theater is all about communication and interpretation. A museum is very concrete--lots of facts and data involved. I am definitely a museum person, so I get that one.

I also get the question about noticing people's appearance. I usually don't notice small things. I do notice hair cuts, but it may take me a few days. I have trouble connecting names and faces, and unless someone has some outstanding physical feature or has done something memorable, I will not remember that person the next day.

I do remember license plates, phone numbers, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, etc.

I read that the AQ test is something like 80% accurate in indicating the likelihood of a person having Asperger's or autism. I had also read that Baron-Cohen and the people who helped him develop this test do use it as a screening tool. It was one of the tests I took to my psychiatrist to see if she thought I had Asperger's.

One of the classic signs someone is autistic is more of an interest in things than people. Like, if someone has cards in their hands, you are more interested in looking at the cards and seeing what they are than you are asking the person who has them questions like,"how are you doing today?".

I assume you are talking about the AQ test that was in Wired?

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

This test also says: "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 read somewhere that afew can go through life without knowing they have Aspergers at all, the above quote would be a good indicator of that. And then there are others like me who have felt all our lives that there is something wrong/odd about the self, talk to a psychologist or a friend and may recieve a new intresting perspective on life.

Another thing i realised was that my score (29) would be alot higher if i had done the quizz when i was younger, i guess time and living life helps...

I also asked two of my geeky friends that also fit in on some of the criterias of AS do the test too, and they both ended up on 14 and 15 respectively.

My primary problem with the AQ test is that it never got into my sensory issues, so I think it's worthless as an actual diagnostic tool. As a diversion, fine.

It's a pretty rough tool, but somehow it ends up getting it right. Any one item really is a toss up; people ARE individuals, AS or not. It's the pattern that tells.

I just finished completing my daughter's GATE questionaire and it looked a lot more like an AS questionaire than an IQ one to me. My AS son was easy to score on it; my NT daughter who is also clearly gifted, was more difficult. Still, I have hopes that the OVERALL will get it right.

They are all rough screens, not definitive answers.