Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge's Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. 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.
It's an old chestnut, I know - but worthwhile. I score a solid 37.
Of course, in looking at the questions themselves and the traits they measure, one has to wonder. To re-quote:
...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.In other words, if your child shows moderate issues with socialization, strange "obsessive behaviors" and doesn't much care for being around people - you should take a deep breath and relax. Odds are pretty good that if you don't have a conniption about it and cause them all sorts of trauma, they will grow up to be perfectly normal aspies.
tag: aspergers, as, autistic spectrum, ASD
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