Self-observation questionnaire
Autism test for adults
Free online autism test for adults, no sign-up: 28 concrete situations, 4 reading axes, an immediate result and a public methodology page.
What this questionnaire observes
4 reading axes, each calculated separately.
- Social interaction7 items
- Communication7 items
- Routines and flexibility7 items
- Sensory processing7 items
What it does not say
- This questionnaire does not go back to your development in childhood, although that is central to any assessment. It does not examine the real impact of your difficulties on your work, your relationships and your health. Nor does it separate what might come from something else: social anxiety, long-term exhaustion, the after-effects of trauma. Those three points are at the heart of a professional's work and cannot be covered by an online questionnaire.
What you get
The result appears as soon as you answer the last question, with no account.
Free, no account
- Your score and its reading range
- One sentence to understand it
- The methodology and the sources
- The light PDF report
With the subscription
- Your reading axis by axis
- A detailed analysis of your answers
- Your evolution between two attempts
- Concrete leads
This result is a chance to understand yourself better. The subscription turns a score into understanding and follow-up.
Sources
The items in this questionnaire are written for Brain Quiz from the published literature in the field. A published scale is reproduced where its licence expressly allows it; here, the questionnaire is the site's own.
3 of the 5 references cited, each one openable.
- Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Males and Females, Scientists and Mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5-17. doi:10.1023/A:1005653411471 opens in a new tab
- Allison, C., Auyeung, B., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Toward Brief "Red Flags" for Autism Screening: The Short Autism Spectrum Quotient and the Short Quantitative Checklist in 1,000 Cases and 3,000 Controls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(2), 202-212. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.11.003 opens in a new tab
- Ritvo, R. A., Ritvo, E. R., Guthrie, D., Ritvo, M. J., Hufnagel, D. H., McMahon, W., Tonge, B., Mataix-Cols, D., Jassi, A., Attwood, T., & Eloff, J. (2011). The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R): A Scale to Assist the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adults: An International Validation Study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(8), 1076-1089. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1133-5 opens in a new tab
Publisher. Brain Quiz writes, publishes and updates this questionnaire. Who writes this site
This autism test for adults is a free online self-observation questionnaire of 28 statements, with no sign-up required. It places your answers on four axes: social interaction, communication, need for predictability and sensory processing. It does not replace an assessment by a health professional. The reference scale in this field, the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, was published by Baron-Cohen and colleagues in 2001.
The autism spectrum describes a neurodevelopmental way of functioning that has been present since childhood, not an illness that appears in adulthood. It concerns how a person reads social signals, processes language, organises daily life and takes in sensory information. Calling it a spectrum means these characteristics combine differently in each person, and vary widely in intensity. Two people concerned may share very little.
Many adults come to this vocabulary late, often after years of looking for an explanation for a persistent sense of being out of step. Historical descriptions were built from profiles identified in childhood, mostly boys, which left quieter presentations out of the picture. In 2017 Loomes, Hull and Mandy published a systematic review concluding that the male-to-female ratio is closer to three to one than to the four to one long assumed.
The questionnaire explores four separate axes. Social interaction covers reading intentions and unwritten rules. Communication covers literal understanding, register and the rhythm of a conversation. Routines and flexibility covers habits, reactions to change and deep interests. Sensory processing covers noise, light, textures, smells and pain. An overall score can stay moderate while a single axis stands out sharply, which is why the breakdown matters more than the total.
Each answer is worth zero to four points, multiplied by a weight of one to three. Eight statements are reversed: agreeing with them lowers the score, which limits answers given on autopilot. The total is scaled to one hundred and placed in one of four bands. The weights and thresholds were set by the Brain Quiz editorial team. They come from no population calibration and carry no normative value.
The 28 statements were written for Brain Quiz from the literature on autistic traits in adulthood. No published scale is reproduced, in whole or in part: reproduction rights for the AQ, the RAADS-R and the CAT-Q are not established for commercial use, and drawing inspiration from a scale does not entitle anyone to claim it as a source. The references listed document the field, not the origin of the statements.
A high score does not mean you are an autistic person, and a low score rules nothing out. This questionnaire does not go back to your childhood development, does not examine the real impact on your work, relationships or health, and does not separate what might come from something else: social anxiety, long-term exhaustion, the after-effects of trauma. Those three elements sit at the centre of an assessment carried out by a professional.
Some adults compensate constantly: social codes learned by observation, sentences prepared in advance, self-monitoring throughout a conversation. This makes the traits almost invisible from the outside without making them go away. If that description fits you better, the questionnaire on social camouflaging is the more useful one (/en/tests/autism-women), and our guide on the subject goes further (/en/guides/autism-in-women-masking).
Getting an assessment as an adult takes time, several appointments and often several different professionals. Knowing who to contact and what to bring changes a great deal: our guide sets out the practical steps (/en/guides/i-think-im-autistic-what-now). If you recognised yourself in older descriptions of Asperger syndrome, a separate guide explains what that term covered and why it changed (/en/guides/asperger-terminology).
The questionnaire takes about eight minutes. It is free, available online, and requires no account and no email address to see your result. It is intended for people aged sixteen and over. Your answers are used to calculate your score and the breakdown by axis; the Privacy page sets out what is kept, for how long and who can access it. Nothing is published or shared without an action from you.
Two limits are worth stating plainly. First, a self-report questionnaire measures what you believe about yourself, not your observed behaviour: memory and current mood both play a part. Second, the traits explored overlap with other ways of functioning, in particular attention difficulties and social anxiety. A high score means a conversation with a professional may be useful. It means nothing more than that.
Frequently asked questions
No. It offers a self-observation of your answers, organised into four axes. Only a health professional can carry out an assessment, going back over your development since childhood, the current impact on your life and other possible explanations. The result of this questionnaire can be a starting point for that conversation, never a conclusion.
It is no longer a separate category in current international classifications: the presentations it described are now part of the autism spectrum. Many adults still use the word because it is how they first recognised themselves. Our guide sets out the history of the term, what it covered and why it changed (/en/guides/asperger-terminology).
Yes. The score, its result band and the explanation that goes with it are available free, online, with no account and no email address, and the light PDF report stays free. The subscription opens the axis by axis reading and the detailed analysis, but it is never required in order to see your result. Nothing is published or shared without an action from you.
Twenty-eight statements, arranged in four axes of seven questions. Allow about eight minutes, answering without overthinking, which usually gives answers closer to how you actually function. You can go back at any point. The questionnaire is intended for people aged sixteen and over.
They were written for Brain Quiz from the literature on autistic traits in adulthood. No published scale is reproduced, in whole or in part: the reproduction rights are not established. The references shown on the methodology page document the field being explored; they are not the source of the statements.
No. A high score means your answers show traits frequently associated with the autism spectrum, across several axes at once. This questionnaire can neither confirm nor rule out a condition. It indicates that a conversation with a neurodevelopmental professional may be useful, and the axis breakdown gives you concrete material to bring to it.
This one describes how spectrum traits show up in everyday adult life. The other one looks at what makes them invisible: imitating social codes, prepared scripts, and the energy cost of compensating. People identified late in life often recognise themselves more in the second one (/en/tests/autism-women).
Your answers are used to calculate your score, the axis breakdown and, if you ask for it, your detailed report. They are never sold or used for advertising. The Privacy page states exactly what is kept, for how long and who can access it, along with how to delete everything.
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