A low-cost tool accurately distinguishes neurotypical children from children with autism just by watching them copy the dance moves of an on-screen avatar for a minute. It can even tell autism from ADHD, conditions that commonly overlap.

[u/mvea]

https://newatlas.com/adhd-autism/autism-motion-detection-diagnosis/

[u/AllanfromWales1]

Does it work for adults? I was never tested as a child (back in the 1960s) but have long suspected..

[u/ZoeBlade → u/AllanfromWales1]

Here, try some of these tests as a rough guide. You can also browse autistic subreddits and see if they seem more like your kind of people -- there tends to be a bit of communication friction between many autistic and non-autistic people, so if you get along with us better, that itself can be a clue. Similarly, if you already have autistic friends, that's probably a sign.

[u/AllanfromWales1 → u/ZoeBlade]

Took the AQ, scored 36/50 where the commentary says "79.3% of autistic people score 32 or higher (whereas only 2% of controls do), so scores of 32 and above are particularly significant."

Oh well.

[u/frostatypical → u/AllanfromWales1]

So-called “autism” tests, like AQ and RAADS and others have high rates of false positives, labeling you as autistic VERY easily. If anyone with a mental health problem, like depression or anxiety, takes the tests they score high even if they DON’T have autism.

"our results suggest that the AQ differentiates poorly between true cases of ASD, and individuals from the same clinical population who do not have ASD "

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4988267/

"a greater level of public awareness of ASD over the last 5–10 years may have led to people being more vigilant in ‘noticing’ ASD related difficulties. This may lead to a ‘confirmation bias’ when completing the questionnaire measures, and potentially explain why both the ASD and the non-ASD group’s mean scores met the cut-off points, "

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-022-05544-9

Regarding AQ and RAADS, from one published study. “The two key findings of the review are that, overall, there is very limited evidence to support the use of structured questionnaires (SQs: self-report or informant completed brief measures developed to screen for ASD) in the assessment and diagnosis of ASD in adults.”

Psychometric properties of questionnaires and diagnostic measures for autism spectrum disorders in adults: A systematic review

 

Regarding RAADS, from one published study. “In conclusion, used as a self-report measure pre-full diagnostic assessment, the RAADS-R lacks predictive validity and is not a suitable screening tool for adults awaiting autism assessments”

The Effectiveness of RAADS-R as a Screening Tool for Adult ASD Populations (hindawi.com)

RAADS scores equivalent between those with and without ASD diagnosis at an autism evaluation center:

Examining the Diagnostic Validity of Autism Measures Among Adults in an Outpatient Clinic Sample - PMC (nih.gov)

 

 

[u/AllanfromWales1 → u/frostatypical]

That sounds about right to me based on my experience and the nature of the tests, but I note that AQ specifically states that a score above 32 is only achieved by 2% of neurotypicals. Is that just advertising or out-of-date information?

[u/frostatypical → u/AllanfromWales1]

Yes thats BS. The site linked above goes right back to the source 'embrace autism". Which is a diagnosis mill website run by a ‘naturopathic doctor’ with an online autism certificate who is repeatedly under ethical investigation and now being disciplined and monitored by two governing organizations (College of Naturopaths and College of Registered Psychotherapists). 

https://cono.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory/Registrant/03d44ec3-ed3b-eb11-82b6-000c292a94a8

The research Ive already linked had plenty of examples of people scoring high when they are not autistic. Its a pretty well known problem in professional circles. These tests shouldnt be labeled 'autism' at all because other things produce high scores.

Let's Be Clear That "Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms" Are Not Always Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder - PubMed (nih.gov)

Autism questionnaire scores do not only rise because of autism - PubMed (nih.gov)

Autism-spectrum quotient Japanese version measures mental health problems other than autistic traits - PubMed (nih.gov)

Have a look around at that linked site above. Says things like " if you think you're very likely to be autistic, then you're probably right." and "And if you think the questions on these tests are too ambiguous to answer... that's probably a sign."