Free autism test for adults

Am I autistic? What the test looks at

The test is the AQ-10, a short form of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. Carrie Allison, Bonnie Auyeung and Simon Baron-Cohen at the Autism Research Centre, Cambridge, published it in 2012 [2]. Its ten statements come from five areas of the longer questionnaire. Each one asks how you usually respond, not how you’d like to.

Here’s what the five areas look at:

• Attention to detail: noticing small sounds and small details that others miss.
• Attention switching: doing two things at once, and getting back on track after an interruption.
• Communication: reading between the lines, and spotting when a listener is getting bored.
• Imagination: working out what characters in a story intend, and liking to collect facts about types of things, such as cars or birds.
• Social understanding: reading feelings from someone’s face, and working out what people intend.

Many adults learn to hide or work around these traits, and the NHS calls this masking [4]. That’s why the statements ask about your usual responses rather than how you come across, even if you’re good at fitting in.

What your result means

Your score runs from 0 to 10, with one point per statement. A statement adds a point when your answer leans the autistic-trait way, which means agreeing for some and disagreeing for others. NICE guidance for adults says to offer a full autism assessment at a score of 6 or above [1]. It also says to offer one when a clinician suspects autism, whatever the score. So a low score doesn’t rule autism out.

Some of the traits the test picks up can come from other conditions as well. The same guidance asks assessing clinicians to consider anxiety disorders, in particular social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder [1]. It also names depression, other mood disorders and other neurodevelopmental conditions. At AuDHD Psychiatry, clinicians look at all of these during an assessment, and at ADHD too.

Autism, ADHD or both?

Autism and ADHD can overlap, and some of their traits look alike. Both can show up as trouble switching attention, feeling overloaded, or finding some social situations tiring. ADHD is also more common in autistic people, according to the NHS [5]. This test looks at autistic traits only, so it can’t tell you anything about ADHD. You’d need a different questionnaire for that, such as our free ADHD test.

Many adults who come to us recognise traits of both. If that sounds like you, ADHD and autism compared walks through how the two differ. When you’d rather have both looked at together, a combined AuDHD assessment covers them in one process, and our free AuDHD test screens for both at once.

From the test to an assessment

You can reach an autism assessment through the NHS or privately. On the NHS, the first step is speaking to your GP. GPs can often refer adults to a local autism team for an assessment [3]. Whether to refer you is your GP’s decision, and the local team carries out the assessment itself.

AuDHD Psychiatry offers an autism assessment for adults online, and you don’t need a GP referral. Your first appointment is usually within 7 days. The assessment takes two appointments: one with you, and an interview with an informant, someone who knows you well. If there’s no one who can take part, we can still assess you thoroughly from your own account. You’ll get an outcome letter the next day, and the full report within two weeks.

Whichever route you choose, it helps to prepare. Jot down examples from school, work and relationships, because they give a clinician your history in your own words. If you’d like to ask questions first, our free 15-minute call is there for information, and it isn’t an assessment. You’ll find the price of each assessment on our fees page.