Am I Autistic

---

For many being diagnosed as autistic helps them understand themselves better. If you are thinking that you may be autistic, there are self-diagnostic tools that can help give you an indication. A commonly used tool is the autism quotient  .   

The Autism Quotient was developed by Baron-Cohen et al in 2001 and was designed to be a “valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality.” (Baron-Cohen et al 2001). It is made up of 50 questions covering 10 areas that those that are autistic display differing traits. 

A score of 32 or above indicates high functioning autism. When tested the average score of somebody with HFA was 35.8.  This test is based however on the known traits and criteria of autism which as previously discussed has a male bias.

The autism quotient has been developed by using the commonly known diagnosis criteria of autism. These criteria have a male autism bias because of the way that Aspergers/HFA was initially studied. To offer a clearer indication for women you can use the chameleon quotient. This has been developed to specifically calculate female traits, which have been researched by Tania Marshall. Tania Marshall has defined 10 areas that women with autism display their traits and this is the research that has been used to create this self-diagnostic tool. 

The Chameleon Quotient has 50 questions, all with multiple-choice answers (definitely agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree and strongly agree), there are 5 questions for each area that Tania Marshall suggests that females differ in autism. 

A score of 35 or above gives an indication of female autism.