Hmmmm
I passed on this link to dh, who has completed the test. This is what he said at the end.
"Would you be surprised to learn I score 36?
No, thought not, just reinforces a stereotype
Interesting proposition, really, that 'geek' parents are more likely to have
ASD kids, but there's a logical explanation (of course). One's development
is shaped by genes and environment. If you have two 'geek' parents, like the
11 yr old in the 'geek syndrome' article, then your home life is more likely
to resemble a lab rat's than something from Enid Blyton's. You get praise
etc. from the parents on doing things 'right', subjectively, their way, so
there's a constant positive reinforcement for 'geek'. Since neither of them
is particularly social, you won't be either, since you learn by watching and
doing.
Is that genes, or environment?
Only way to tell would be two take a pair of identical twins (or several, to
iron out statistical anomalies) of geek parents and have one brought up by
geeks, the other by normal people (non-engineer/software/maths types).
Measure the incidence of ASD in both groups. If it's solely genetic, there
should be no difference. If it's environmental, there will be a huge
difference. If it's both, the non-geek environmental set will have a lower
incidence and the position on the spectrum should yield a lower 'disability'
rating.
Some of the questions are interesting, particularly since I felt that in
some cases there needs to be a 'neither agree or disagree' result. Having to
come down one way or the other meant I probably considered the answer too
much. "
Bear in mind that dh has certain 'compulsive aspects' to his behaviour e.g. his CDs have to be kept in strict alphabetical order, and his elder son (my stepson) is autistic.
Makes you think doesn't it.