How accurate are the AQ tests?

[VampiresWalkin]

Just random musings. We found out about AS in the first place with the AQ on wired.com, my sister scored highly and wanted us to take it too.

On Friday I asked DD the questions, and she got a score of 44 (over 32 implies spectrum) - the score that high stunned me, but even knocking off 10 for questions she may not have understood properly etc (she is 5 1/2), it is clearly over.

It made me feel very much "See!" and reassuring what I know but doesn't seem obvious to other people. Just really wondering how useful tests like that actually are.

The most comical answer for me had to be "Can you imagine what it is like to be Psychoboy2?"

She just looked at me and said "No." with an expression of "why would I???"

They're absolutely not a diagnosis, and it's not designed for children to answer it. An autism psychologist/specialist who can do diagnoses will use the tests to give them some clues, but the actual process is through very long interviews for adults, and questioning of close family/those who knew us when we were young. Plus medical questions to establish that it can't be any other thing. Often they supplement that sort of test with the SQ and EQ ones, too. For children, the process is different, using questions aimed more at their lives.

The experts reckon that a score above 37 for an adult is very, very likely to mean an ASD. But there is ALWAYS room for error if people try it themselves, so it's only a clue, not a proper test.

Me, diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, test result 43 on the AQ.

I'm a 40 on that test

My theory witrh these things though is they're a great clue to who needs an assessment, rather than anything else; a diagnosis ony means anything anyway when its in conjunction with info from speech therapy, OT etc as to what a person needs to support them.

ah yes, not as a dx, more just as a reassurance in my own mind (our area won't consider anything until age 7).

They are useful for adults with good /understanding capabilities at least to get a general idea over whether a formal assessment might be a good idea. For children, or for those people who have greater difficulties in understanding they are not as useful. There is no way that Ds1, for example, would be capable of answering any of the questions.

Amber, I didn't have to go through a long process to get my diagnosis, but I was lucky in that I was told it was pretty apparent I was on the spectrum. I do still wonder about other things, see my thread on blood tests and fragile x for example, but am hovering over that as really don't want to be seen as neurotic .

That's always the worry isn't it Bullet? our Paed offered to test ds3 just after your thread which I was pleased about- she didn't relaise the reg hadn't tested ds1.

Ooh, while you guys are on the thread, can I ask some advice on adult DX please?
We have recently come to the conclusion that my FIL is on the spectrum - since DS's DX we've been watching FIL and it's just become apparent how difficult he finds life. Bearing in mind Amber's brilliant analogies (thanks BTW!), it seems that many of his social issues/odd behaviours might well be his self-taught way of coping with information overload.
Anyway, we're not planning on springing it on him but wondered if you had any advice on helping him find his own way to the same conclusion? On the one hand I'm sure it would be a huge relief but on the other, I'm not sure he'd understand that it's not the end of the world (he's not v good at listening!)

Hmm, difficult. Very few older people with an ASD see the value of a diagnosis, since they reason that they've coped so far somehow, and there are so few services that would help even if they knew (as I've discovered). What do you see as the outcome of such a test for him? I think the family can put their thoughts together on the AQ questions, for example, and see if you think he just might be ASD, and then encourage everyone to respect that way of thinking and being and see if it makes a difference to how frustrated he is/you are with him. That's certainly one positive outcome, and it wouldn't need a diagnosis. But he may not welcome a DX at all. Tread warily...?

Thanks, definitely no plans to talk to him about it, he's far too fragile really. Talked to MIL about it today and she thought the theory made sense. It will hopefully let her feel exonerated (is that the right word?) about her frustrations with him .
I just think he does feel the difference between him and the 'rest of the world' and is either totally bewildered or blames himself in some way (eg he was adopted and has come to some very odd conclusions from that in the past.) Seems a shame if he couldn't get some kind of redemption from it, to have a reason for life being so hard.
Thanks for your help anyway.