Free autism test for children and teens

What the questions ask about your teenager

The form is the AQ-10 adolescent version, a short questionnaire from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge [1]. A parent or carer completes it about the teenager, picking one of four answers for each statement [1]. The statements describe everyday behaviour, so you’ll probably recognise your child in some of them and not in others.

Grouped in our own words, they touch on five areas:

• Patterns and detail: whether your teenager notices patterns, and whether they focus on the whole picture or the small details.
• Switching attention: following several people talking in a group, and getting back on track after an interruption.
• Conversation: keeping a conversation going, and how easy small talk feels.
• Imagination: pretend play with other children when they were younger, and imagining what it’s like to be someone else.
• Friendships: how comfortable social situations feel, and how easily they make new friends.

Answer for how your teenager usually is, not how they are on their best or worst day.

What your teenager’s score means

Your teenager’s score runs from 0 to 10, with one point per statement [1]. A statement adds a point when the answer leans towards autistic traits, so some score on agreeing and others on disagreeing. The questionnaire’s own guidance is to consider a referral for a specialist assessment at 6 or above [1]. Treat that number as a prompt to look further, never as a pass mark.

NICE guidance on autism in under 19s says screening tools can help gather information in a structured way [3]. The same guidance says they shouldn’t be used to make or rule out a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder [3]. At AuDHD Psychiatry, our clinicians look at the whole picture, including your child’s history and school life. A high score can come from things other than autism, and a low score doesn’t rule autism out [3].

Signs of autism in teenagers to look for alongside the score

Older autistic children share many signs with younger children [4]. They can also:

• have few close friends and spend more time alone.
• take things literally, or miss sarcasm.
• need to follow rules, and get upset when rules aren’t followed.
• find changes in routine hard, such as the move from primary to secondary school.

Some teenagers learn to hide their differences, which is called masking [4]. Hiding them all day can make everyday life feel exhausting and stressful [4]. So a teenager who seems settled at school can still be working hard to cope. Signs can be harder to spot in girls because of masking, though autistic boys mask too [4]. Autism can also look different when a child has another condition, such as ADHD [4].

Our guide to signs of autism in children covers every age, and autistic masking has its own page.

From the test to an assessment for your child

You can reach an autism assessment for your child through the NHS or privately. On the NHS, speak to your child’s GP, who can often refer children to a local autism team [5]. The GP decides whether to refer, and the local team carries out the assessment. For children, the school may need to make the referral instead [5]. The school’s special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is another person to talk to [4].

AuDHD Psychiatry offers a child autism assessment online for children aged 6 to 17, with no GP referral needed. It takes three appointments: an ADOS assessment with your child, an autism-focused interview with your child, and an informant interview with you. ADOS is a structured observation of how your child communicates and interacts. A parent can be present during their child’s assessment. You’ll get an outcome letter the next day, and the full report within two weeks.

If you’ve noticed signs of ADHD too, a child assessment for ADHD and autism together looks at both across four appointments. If you’re unsure where to begin, our free 15-minute call gives you information, though it isn’t an assessment itself. You’ll find the price of each assessment on our fees page.