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=                      Autism-spectrum quotient                      =
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                            Introduction
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The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) is a questionnaire published in 2001
by Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the Autism Research Centre
in Cambridge, UK. Consisting of fifty questions, it aims to
investigate whether adults of average intelligence have symptoms of
autism spectrum conditions. More recently, versions of the AQ for
children and adolescents have also been published.

The test was popularised by 'Wired' in  when published alongside their
article, "The Geek Syndrome". It is commonly used for self diagnosis
of autism spectrum disorders, although it is not intended to be a
diagnostic test. The PhenX Toolkit uses age-specific versions of AQ as
its adult and adolescent screening protocols for Symptoms of Autism
Spectrum Disorders.


                               Format
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The test consists of 50 statements, each of which is in a forced
choice format. Each question allows the subject to indicate
"definitely agree", "slightly agree", "slightly disagree" or
"definitely disagree". Approximately half the questions are worded to
elicit an "agree" response from neurotypical individuals, and half to
elicit a "disagree" response. The subject scores one point for each
question which is answered "autistically" either slightly or
definitely.

The questions cover five different domains associated with the autism
spectrum: social skills; communication skills; imagination; attention
to detail; and attention switching/tolerance of change. Factor
analysis of sample results have been inconsistent, with various
studies finding two, three or four factors instead of five.


                      Use as a diagnostic tool
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In the initial trials of the test, the average score in the control
group was 16.4, with men scoring slightly higher than women (about 17
versus about 15). 80% of adults diagnosed with autism spectrum
disorders scored 32 or more, compared with only 2% of the control
group.

The authors cited a score of 32 or more as indicating "clinically
significant levels of autistic traits". However, although the test is
popularly used for self-diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, the
authors caution that it is not intended to be diagnostic, and advise
that anyone who obtains a high score and is suffering some distress
should seek professional medical advice and not jump to any
conclusions.

A further research paper indicated that the questionnaire could be
used for screening in clinical practice, with scores less than 26
indicating that a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome can effectively be
ruled out.

It is also often used to assess milder variants of autistic-like
traits in neurotypical individuals.


              Mathematicians, scientists and engineers
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Although most students with an autism spectrum disorder have average
mathematical ability and test slightly worse in mathematics than in
general intelligence, some are gifted in mathematics and autism
spectrum disorder has not prevented some adults from major
accomplishments.

The questionnaire was tried on Cambridge University students and a
group of 16 winners of the British Mathematical Olympiad to determine
whether there was a link between a talent for mathematical and
scientific disciplines and traits associated with the autism spectrum.
Mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering students were found to
score significantly higher, e.g., 21.8 on average for mathematicians
and 21.4 for computer scientists. The average score for the British
Mathematical Olympiad winners was 24.


                              See also
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* List of diagnostic classification and rating scales used in
psychiatry
* Psychological testing
* Psychometrics


                           External links
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* [https://psychology-tools.com/autism-spectrum-quotient/ Online
version of the AQ questionnaire]


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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism-spectrum_quotient