If you are diagnosed with ASD, what was your AQ50 score?

[lovelycosyslippers]

Mine is between 26 and 29 (I've taken it a few times). I'm trying to work out the significance of that. The cut-off seems to be given as 26 in some places and 32 in others. Similarly I've seen the population average given as 16 in some places and 22 in others.

I did post this in the ND Mumsnetter section but am also posting here for traffic.

I loved this. Made me laugh.

Although this one:-

Ah yes, people who have systemising minds just adore poring over boring tables of irrelevant data they'd otherwise have no interest in, purely because it's got some nicely-arranged lines of numbers in it. It draws them in. Like some kind of number-pheromone.

I think I might have a number-pheromone. 😂 If I was given the choice of reading a long paragraph about the meaning of life or looking at a table of numbers about seal mating rituals I would be right there with the seals!

(Not diagnosed as ASD although I have occasionally wondered. I am a mathematician though.)

It annoys me in the same way that there is an expectation that those with ASC find eye contact hard/don't express affection/speak in a monotone/don't get jokes. My two love puns and both are really funny. My eldest is like the UN when her friends are squabbling. It isn't a one size fits all condition. Plus comorbidities of ADHD and anxiety can skew things.
The emphasis on maths is the Sheldon trope/all with ASC will go into programming. It's as annoying as having special skills/observational talent. I thought the Rainman/genius/savant trope had been put to bed.

Thanks everyone, I'm finding this really helpful. I'm trying to work out what combination of introversion/general anxiety/social anxiety/autistic traits my issues (basically: feeling great, feeling fine, coping, struggling, feeling really really on edge, collapse in tears for three hours... then repeat) are down to.

I don't want to live never knowing if I'm going to have a total meltdown that day. But what approach I take will differ if it's anxiety (which can be treated to some degree) or introversion or autistic traits (which can't).

It's amazing how it can take till your 40s to even begin to understand yourself.

It annoys me when everyone seems to think autism = introversion as well. The idea of an autistic extrovert seems to blow a lot of people’s minds, including some professionals who should really know better!

I got 38 and the empathy quotient was 19. So I'm pretty autistic but no official diagnosis yet.

I thought autism presented differently in females anyway?

I'm diagnosed and mine was 41. When I was going through diagnosis the psychologist said that the questionnaire was based on how males presented with autism. She did another questionnaire with me which was more in depth, I can't remember what it was called though.

Yep. I don't work in tech - I work in human communication and social interaction for God's sake! (I'm a SALT!) I also got bollocked on placements for having TOO animated a tone of voice - which is also something that is a feature of DD2's speech (she's also autistic).

I do loves joining in a good Autistic infodumping session though - there's a specific type of joy in the brain itch you can get there that you can't easily get elsewhere!

Thanks. Are you diagnosed?

I just did it and scored 21. I would say that I am NT, although not particularly sociable and am very mathematical, so about what I'd have expected.

I agree with the comments that there's some I'd say "well it depends". But I also dislike having no "neither agree nor disagree", because I feel it forces me into making an answer when I may genuinely not feel strongly either way. I like museums and theatres for example. I wouldn't say I'd go to one over another.

I think you'd be surprised. Most people I know just buy things based on the barest of information, or they just go and talk to one salesperson in one showroom/shop. They don't want to know the details.

I am not diagnosed autistic and always come out borderline on the AQ. I'd probably score higher on a questionnaire with questions like you describe. I need to know ALL the detail and set up comparison spreadsheets when buying products/choosing holidays etc etc.

In my job I work with the public and a similar level of detail. In my experience most people are not interested in detail and don't read anything and do the bare minimum of research, if at all. Some people just buy the first thing they see in their peace range. Or they buy it because their friend/neighbour/aunty Mabel has it and said it was good. People are often "impressed" (not sure why as like you I think "why wouldn't you want to know this stuff?" And "how on earth do you make decisions with virtually no information?" But many people seem quite content bumbling about and making decisions just hoping for the best. Tbf to them it does look easier, less time consuming and less stressful. And I imagine at least 50% of the time they are happy with their choice. My brain though just can't work like that so I'm stuck with my approach!!

Apparently some people decide who to vote for based on nothing much more than gut instinct or a feeling, and often on their way into the voting booth. Mind blowing.

50

I found myself arguing with the psychologist over many of the questions when dd was being evaluated. The precision was just so lacking. We were in a room full of experts and they just all sort of looked at me and I had this “aha” moment where I realized they all knew I was going to need a diagnosis as well. NT people don’t seem bothered by the vagueness and potential for misinterpretation.

I’m currently waiting to be assessed and I got 40. The EQ part I got 13.

I’m not really sure what any of that means, but I had fun taking the test.

34 but the answer categories are too simplistic really, if you are ambivalent about something there's no real difference between sightly agree or slightly disagree but I imagine it affects the scoring.

Yes I just think "well it depends what you mean!" all the time when I was doing it.

What's the lowest number anyone has got? I just scored 7-which basically seems to indicate total pain in the neck!

Being a mathematician is its very own category of neurodevelopmental excitingness, IMO. (I grew up alongside one 😅)

40, I'm NT.
Just throwing that into the mix if it interests anyone.

No I never bothered as there is no cure so I felt no need to bother. I am self employed though so maybe less necessary than if I were trying to cope in the workplace.

I was diagnosed autistic 2 years ago at age 34 and got 48 on the AQ test. Had my daughters not been diagnosed I would never have known I'm autistic too.

I'm not diagnosed but my kids are autistic. I scored 35. I'd say I have autistic traits, but I'm not sure I'd meet the criteria for a diagnosis as it doesn't cause significant enough difficulties. I'm always borderline on these quizzes.

Those questions are so annoying, as others have said.

Theatre or museum? I'd rather go to see a comedian I like at the theatre, than go to a family-friendly museum where there are loads of kids, it's crowded, and the lighting is weird. But I'd rather go to a quiet museum I'm not even interested than see a panto! Who can even answer these questions?!

My autistic kids have the same 'it depends' reaction to these kind of either/or questions, so maybe that says something in itself 😆

Parent of ASD child, I scored 37 🤣

I love shallow social interaction, I would happily attend parties where I knew no one, but building a meaningful long term friendship is something I don’t understand.

ASD child is also very sociable, he just doesn’t understand the finer rules.

Husband OTOH hates social interactions and parties (but is happy to go if I do) so we work well as a team.

Ive had the same hobby for 37 years, I could talk about it for hours 🐎