RAADS test AQ test ASD Assessment

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Hi, quick query about ASD assessemnt tests.

I've been given the AQ test (Autism Quotient) and the RAADS test (Ritvo Autism-Asperger's Diagnostic Scale) to complete as part of my assessment. I've done the AQ test before and understand it, but with the RAADS test, it appears to have the scores already marked for each answer of each question. Is it supposed to be like that? Am I supposed to ignore the scoring system and just be honest? Answering honestly isn't a problem but I'm concerned that seeing the scores could still affect choices of answers. Maybe I was given the wrong bit of paper...

Thank you.

That sounds like the same version i took. Came as part of a journal artical. I think it was intended as an interview.

Thanks guys, that makes sense, now. I'll complete it using that link first and then complete my paper.

Hi rmgh long time no see.

Where did your RAADS test come from ? I was sent one from Prof. Eagles at that hospital by Westburn to be completed and sent back before they would see me at a clinic. It did not have any scores showing.
If your test has come from there perhaps they have sent you the examiner's copy in error.

I went privately to see a Con. Psychologist in Dundee in the end as I had been told I might have to wait some time for an appointment - but it didn't in the end, never mind.

Hope you are well by the way.

Hi CosmicRuss, good to see you Yes, I've been hiding in the chat and other autism channels or I've been hiding from them, too.

I got it today from John Forrester from Grampian Autistic Society (can't find his website anymore :S) as he has been assessing me for a third professional opinion. I've read normally these tests are initial tests to indicate the need for further investigation but also they are part of the collection of evidence for an eventual diagnosis. In my case, he's given me them just for evidence purposes and to build a strong case.

Ah, that's a shame that you went to bother of going private. For me, it has now been 7 months since I had a psychiatric assessment. I was told that if I had been seen by another psychiatrist, ASD might never have been investigated as many professionals in our area are not knowlegable on the subject.

Hope all is well with you, too.

Just tested myself and I scored 142 (Social 54, Interest 28, Language 8 and Sensory 42). Probably the most solidly autistic I've scored on any autism test, given that the cutoff is 65!

I thought it was neat how they seemed to understand what went on inside an autistic persons head instead of making me try to imagine how other people might perceive me. One question I particularly liked was the one about the phrase 'getting under your skin'. I don't ever misunderstand literal statements, but I always think about the literal meaning as well as the figurative one. So some statements like that will make me feel freaked out or whatever even though I know what they really mean.

One thing I thought was screwy was how they scored the age-limited options. I would've thought acting autistic as a kid and then outgrowing it would be more consistent with autism than developing new autistic traits as an adult, considering how there are some adult-onset conditions that look a lot like autism (schizophrenia, certain kinds of brain damage, etc).

So you had to take that RAADS test by yourself without anyone to ask about the specifics of each question and such?
Curious, do you find tests like that at all difficult?

So many of those questions (in that one or in any other such test really), I'd have hard time answering before getting some feedback on whether my idea of what it means is correct and whether I qualify for that answer because there's this one thing and such. Damn. That would be hard to fill. But so is anything for which the answers are seen by others - it is much harder to do tests like that when you know you really have to be 100% sure you know what they mean so you don't make mistakes, since it's serious, and what if I thought something meant something other than it did, and then the psychologist/whoever gave the test would later comment on the answer and it would turn out I misunderstood it and it'd be embarassing?

Doing tests by myself on the internet is easy, but in a real life situation they're incredibly hard. I always end up having to ask the meaning of nearly every question.

Quotations from the original paper:

To clarify, I am completing the test myself for next week. Next week, when my appointment is, we will look through the tests together and talk about the answers I have given, giving me an opportunity to ask about any that I don't understand and then persumably we can change some answers if I have misunderstood a question.

So, I completed the online test and it turned out to be a different version! So, by the time I had got round to copying the answers onto my paper and realised this, I was too late. So the AQ results were used (I got 43) and the RAADS was left. I should be getting diagnosed soon.