There’s a simple questionnaire designed for over 16s to detect general traits of Autism. It consists of ten questions that focus on social skills and communication. It’s estimated that around 700,000 adults and children in the UK have been diagnosed with autism diagnosis, with thousands more having it without knowing they have it.
With numbers of children affected with Autism on the rise, families in some parts of the UK families are waiting up to four years just for an assessment!
According to the NHS, being Autistic does not mean you have an illness or a disease, it simply means your brain works in a different way. Autism can vary widely between individuals — some of those affected will be able to lead fully functioning lives with no additional help, while others may need full-time assistance. Classic signs of the disability include trouble communicating, finding certain situations overwhelming and repeating certain behaviours.
The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Test is a self-administered questionnaire developed to assess the presence of Autism-Spectrum traits in adults. Created by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen at the Cambridge Autism Research Centre, the AQ was published in 2001.
Basically, the test focusses on social communication, behaviour, and how people process information. The test provides an indication of autistic traits but it’s not a diagnostic tool. A high score suggests that further assessment might be necessary, but it can’t confirm an autism diagnosis, which requires in-depth analysis, including clinical interviews, developmental history, and observation by specialists. But it can be a useful first step in recognising potential signs of autism It is not definitive, merely a guide to help determine if additional professional insights are needed. Scores of six or less make autism unlikely.
Score one point if you AGREE with any of the following statements: 1. I often notice small sounds when others do not
- I like to collect information about categories of things
- I find it difficult to work out people’s intentions
- When I’m reading a story, I find it difficult to work out the character’s intentions Score one point if you DISAGREE with any of the following statements: 5. I find it easy to read between the lines when someone is talking to me 6. I usually concentrate more on the whole picture, rather than the small details 7. I know how to tell if someone is listening to me is getting bored
- I find it easy to do more than one thing at once
- I find it easy to work out what someone is thinking or feeling just by looking at their face 10. If there’s an interruption, I can switch back to what I was doing very quickly
If you score six or more, it might be a sign you might be autistic, in which case, you should seek an assessment for autism.
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Autism nearly tripled in children and young adults in the last decade.
Autism in children and young adults in America has surged in the last decade — an analysis of millions of health records found that among all age groups, diagnoses rose 175% between 2011 and 2022, from a rate of 2.3 to 6.3 per 1,000 people. The biggest increase was among young adults ages 26 to 34, with an increase of 450%.
Researchers also noted that the autism ‘gender gap’ is closing as more girls and women are diagnosed with the condition. but they cautioned that actual rates are likely even higher than predicted, as not all autistic children have access to screening and therapy.
Children aged five to eight are still the most likely group to be diagnosed — at a rate of 30 per 1,000 — especially school-aged boys. But better screening, raised awareness and a broader diagnostic criteria are also driving the surge. Recent studies have also pointed to environmental factors like pollution, and aging mothers also playing a role.
Nations such as the UK are facing an even higher surge as the number of autistic adults also continue to grow. A recent NHS report found that 200,000 Brits are waiting on an autism assessment, up from 30,000 in 2023.
About one in 36 US children and one in 50 adults have autism, according to the CDC, Environmental factors like pollution, illnesses during pregnancy, and older parental age could also be to blame.
The majority of autistic participants were aged from up to the age of four, followed closely by ages five to eight. ADHD diagnoses decreased with age, with the smallest percentage group (1 in 200) being over age 65.
Boys and men outnumbered girls and women three to one, which experts have suggested could be due to genetic mutations and hormones more common in boys.
On the other hand… the increases in diagnoses could be due to ‘changes in developmental screening practices’ and changes in ‘diagnosis definitions, policies, and environmental factors.’ In other words, scientists have defined a lexicon of terms to describe variations in age-old growing pains in children and excuses for poor behaviour in adults.