Quiz Me

  • Posted on February 16, 2010 at 11:36 PM

The question has been lurking in my mind: Am I on or merely near the “spectrum?  When I was gathering some more links for my collection I came across three different quizzes.  Here are the results if you’re at all curious.

First, I took a quiz from PsychCentral:

They call theirs an Autism/Asperger’s Screening Quiz.  I scored 33.  They say if you score 34 or more autism is likely.  If you score between 30 and 33 autism is possible (which is where I fit in according to this quiz).  If you score 29 or less, no autism.

This puts me at the cusp of the criteria, however I found their questions to be rather stereotypical than definitive.  It makes it rather difficult to feel confident about the results.  Particularly, I find this passage to be bothersome:  “Based upon your responses to this autism screening measure, it appears that you may be suffering from an autism spectrum disorder, or Asperger’s disorder. People who score similarly often qualify for a diagnosis of autism or Asperger’s,” (emphasis added).  No test of this nature can indicate whether one is suffering or merely experiencing.  This presumption betrays a bias that I find rather untrustworthy.

Next, I took an Aspie Quiz on RDOS.net:

This site kindly provided HTML code, so I can share the results.

The summary is as follows:

Your Aspie score: 146 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 58 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
Your MBTI type: INTJ

Next, I went to a site I’m unfamiliar with that offers what it calls an ASC-Plot:

They also kindly offer HTML code, so there’s a visual.

And here’s the summary:

0 indicates no autistic component, 10 indicates a strong autistic component. The components of this plot are outlined below:

  • Repetitive or restricted Behaviours and Interests (RBI) - Stereotyped, repetitive behaviours and interests
  • Social Impairment (SI) - Social understanding
  • Language problems (L) - Speech, words and sentences
  • Planning, Organization and Concentration problems (POC) - Cognitive skills related to being able to plan, organise and stay focused
  • Imaging and Recall problems (IR) - Visualisation, imagination and remembering past events
  • Reasoning and Problem solving problems (RP) - Cognitive skills related to rational deduction and working things out
  • Sensory problems (S) - Impact of senses
  • Motor problems (M) - Control of own movement

And my scores are:

  • RBI =7
  • SI=8.25
  • L=3.75
  • POC=7
  • IR=8.25
  • RP=4.5
  • S=7.5
  • M=4.25

I think I can say with confidence that I’m not neurotypical, but I knew that.  This didn’t make me want to go out and get a diagnosis though.  Not because I’m convinced I’m not an Aspie, but because there are so many barriers to a diagnosis I’m not sure it’s worth the energy.

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8 Comments on Quiz Me

  1. Clay

    I took the Aspie quiz. Some of those questions are just stupid. They make incorrect assumptions that all Aspies do this or that. Other questions are poorly worded, and useless, such as, “Do people often tell you that…” People never tell me nuthin’. Or “Do others think you…” I have no idea what others think.
    My Aspie score is 135 of 200.
    My NT score is 84 of 200.
    Very likely an Aspie. INTP.

    [img]http://www.rdos.net/eng/poly12c.php?p1=89&p2=69&p3=64&p4=92&p5=80&p6=87&p7=46&p8=68&p9=36&p10=23&p11=84&p12=10[/img]

  2. Sadderbutwisergirl

    I understand people wanting autism diagnoses because of the “confirmation” part of it. However, the diagnosis also carries a lot of stigma and lifetime repercussions. I can understand if they need to get it so they have easier access to accomodations, but not really for confirmation. The reason for this is that I have suffered quite a bit from being stigmatized because of being autistic. Not only that, but because I was seen as “disordered,” teachers could physically force me to make eye contact and mock me for being “abnormal,” even though my “weirdness” didn’t harm anyone, and it was considered all right, even by my parents. I guess that is part of the leisure that comes from a childhood of being able to pass for “normal.”

  3. Stephanie

    Clay,

    I do agree some of the questions are problematic and stereotyped. I found that on all three quizzes. I considered the latter two “better” in that regard, because some of their questions were not overly obvious or totally predictable from my own perspective. But, each quiz reflects a particular person or set of persons perspective on autism and what it really means. Since that is still such an ambiguous issue, stereotypes are pretty much unavoidable. Not an excuse, but something that has to be met with some degree of acceptance until that which we call autism is better understood–which will only happen when more autistics are given a voice in order to explain/describe their own experiences.

  4. Stephanie

    Sadderbutwiser,

    My reasons for not pursuing a diagnosis are mostly with regards to the effort/benefit ratio I expect from the experience. As it is, accommodations would not be appropriate. I’ve set my whole life up around my own, personally designed accommodations over the last few years. If I’d known and accommodations had been available earlier in my life, it might have been different. Maybe then I wouldn’t have chosen career goals that fit what I could do without outside accommodations. But, I had to self-accommodate because there were no accommodations for me. I’m not discontent with the result, though I regret the ignorance.

    As far as stigma, that doesn’t really concern me. I’ve dealt with stigma my entire life. I’ve been publicly humiliated by peers and teachers, by parents and friends, by family and strangers, because of my autistic traits. The difference is that I did not know about autism at the time. Whether I have a diagnosis or not, the stigma I face for being me will still be there. Whether I have a diagnosis or not, I still face the stigma of having three children who do have the diagnosis. And, whether I get a diagnosis or not, I would face stigma from within the autism community for either being not diagnosed, self-diagnosed or a border-line case that “isn’t really autism.”

    It’s been my experience that stigma is unavoidable. I rarely let fear of stigma influence my choices.

  5. cube angel

    I’m an INTP even though P levels are low. This means I’m close to being an INTJ. You will be able to tell by all of the mathematics I have on my blog. The truth is like Socrates I know nothing and I know that I know nothing. I am ignornant and aware of my own ignornance. This is why I appreciated you coming to my blog. I’m probably going to have flaws in what I say because I could be missing data.

    SBWG and Stephanie, I’ve been spatted upon. I’ve been pushed and shoved. I’ve been called retard etc etc etc. All that has been done to you has been done to me as well. I’m going to have to learn how to forgive and bless those who curse me. I think that will take a long time.

  6. Stephanie

    Cube Angel,

    Welcome!

    I have to warn you that while I have taken both College Algebra and Statistics and aced both of them, math is not my strong suit. It makes my brain shut down. I’m a words, gal!

    Forgiveness is difficult. Sometimes very difficult. While forgiveness is an important step, both in living the Christian faith and in your own personal healing process, it’s also important not to internalize these damaging words and actions. In a way, that’s even more difficult.

    It makes me think of that children’s rhyme: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Oh, but they do. They really, really do. Often, they hurt long after broken bones have mended.

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