Online Autism Tests

Online autism tests can help you to identify and evaluate autism traits in yourself, a child, teenager, or another adult. These tests can't confirm a diagnosis, which needs to be made by a qualified healthcare provider. But they can help you decide your next steps, such as seeking a professional assessment.

These tests generally include 50 questions or fewer about autism traits and behaviors. They can be completed in a few minutes, with results usually given as a score out of the total number possible.

What the Tests Can Tell You

Some traits in yourself or your child may indicate autism with low support needs. If you recognize any of them, you may want to take an online autism test and discuss the results with your healthcare provider. These traits include:

• Challenges with conversation
• Difficulty understanding body language and facial expressions
• Sensory sensitivity, such as disliking loud noises or the feeling of a certain clothing item
• "Stimming" behaviors, such as rocking back and forth, pacing, or humming
• Making sounds or repeating phrases in an effort to self-soothe or manage stress
• Repetitive behavior such as opening and closing drawers or lining up objects
• Strongly held interests in a small number of subjects

In addition to the general traits, children and toddlers who display the following signs may benefit from being tested:

• For toddlers: a lack of eye contact, not responding to their name, using few or no words by age 2
• For older children: difficulty playing in groups and a tendency to play alone or engage in their own activities when with peers

People with intense autism traits are usually diagnosed at a very young age, while other people learn of their diagnosis later in childhood. For some autistic people with low support needs, a diagnosis may be overlooked as they "mask" traits into adulthood.

Choosing an Online Autism Test

Autism is a disorder that has no established biological markers, such as those a blood test might reveal. As a result, it can only be diagnosed by a healthcare practitioner through observation and interviews. You can, however, use credible online autism tests to:

• Quickly get a clearer understanding of what autism traits look like
• Answer questions to help you determine whether there are red flags for autism
• Decide whether to seek professional autism screening and evaluation

Some online autism tools are carefully researched, but others were developed by non-experts based on diagnostic criteria. It's best to select from one of the options listed in this article or research any other test carefully.

Tests for Adults

If you're an adult who wonders whether your challenges are the result of autism with low support needs, you may want to seek a diagnosis. That's why several organizations have developed online screening tools to help you determine whether you are an autistic adult.

These tests include:

• RBQ-2A: The Adult Repetitive Behavior Questionnaire was developed by researchers in Wales and is the best-researched tool of its kind. It can be downloaded from the Newcastle University website. A shorter quiz based on this research can be found at the Exceptional Individuals website.
• AQ Test: The 50-question Autism Spectrum Quotient test was developed by well-known researcher Simon Baron-Cohen at the University of Cambridge in England. This test has been researched and found to be moderately accurate, even in its short 12-question version. It is available online in a variety of locations, including Embrace Autism. There's also an AQ10.
• ASBQ: The Adult Social Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ) tool focuses on a wide range of autism aspects, but especially traits associated with low support needs. There are 44 questions.

Sample Autism Test Questions

Sample questions for adults may ask about repetitive behaviors, like if you pace around or make repetitive motions. They may ask if you have a focused interest you talk about all the time. Or, they may ask how much you agree that a behavior describes you. These can include statements like:

• I prefer to do things with others rather than on my own.
• I often notice small sounds when others do not.
• In a social group, I can easily keep track of several different people's conversations.
• I enjoy social chitchat.

Tests for Children

Most of the time, autism is diagnosed in children under the age of 3. Thus, most online tests, quizzes, and observations are designed for young children—and, of course, must be filled out by their caregiver(s).

It's important to remember that parent observations may be biased or simply incorrect. Therefore, while caregiver input is very important, it cannot substitute for professional observation of the child.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers direct access to many of the most common tools used to diagnose young children, including:

• M-CHAT-R/F: The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers is the most frequently used test for autism screening in this age group. It's a 20-item, caregiver-completed checklist with yes/no questions about early autism traits, including whether a child smiles back when you do, makes eye contact when talking or getting dressed, and follows when you point at something.
• SWYC: The Survey of Well-Being of Young Children: Parent's Observations of Social Interactions (POSI) was designed to assess children under the age of 5. It takes about 15 minutes, with between 33 and 40 questions (depending on the age of the child). It looks at developmental, emotional/behavioral, and family risk factors, and asks how your child interacts with new people, stays on a schedule, or manages change.
• RBQ: The Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire is a 33-item caregiver questionnaire designed to measure children's repetitive behaviors. It was developed by Dr. Michelle Turner at Cambridge University. Like the adult RBQ listed above, it's a validated online tool for identifying one common trait of autism: repetitive behaviors, like lining up toys. You can find links to all the RBQ tests online.
  

Other Autism Tests for Kids

The following are also recommended autism screenings for children, but they're not online autism tests. These are generally only given in a clinical setting:

• The Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers and Young Children (STAT): Designed for those ages 24 to 36 months, a child is prompted to interact with specific objects such as dolls, blocks, and toy cars. The examiner observes the child's behavior to help identify whether there are autism traits present. The STAT test takes about 20 minutes to complete and includes 12 parts.
• The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ): This test is designed to assess children over age 4 who have a mental age above 2. It includes 40 questions and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Next Steps After Positive Test Results

It's critical to remember that online autism tests don't diagnose autism. They can only suggest that you or your child may need to see a healthcare provider for a professional evaluation. It is also important to be aware that the results of an online assessment may not be correct.

The best reason to take an online autism test is to screen for possible traits of autism. Once you've completed the screening and have found that autism is a possibility, it's time to take the next step:

• Adults: You may have already found ways to compensate for or take advantage of your autistic traits. If you have challenges, however, you may wish to find a psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker who has specific experience working with autistic adults. You may also want an official diagnosis if you are having trouble holding down a job and want to apply for benefits like Social Security.
• Children: Start with a trip to the pediatrician and ask for an autism evaluation. If the pediatrician can't or won't provide an evaluation, consider a local children's hospital or autism clinic. Ideally, your child will be evaluated by a team that includes a developmental pediatrician or neurologist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist. A complete assessment will evaluate social and language skills, cognitive development, and ability to complete daily tasks.
  

Ruling Out Causes With Similar Traits

It is important to be aware that the symptoms of other disorders may be similar to autism traits. Your healthcare provider will want to rule out these conditions before a diagnosis:

• A child may not turn to you when you speak or respond to their name because they are hard of hearing.
• There are many reasons children may be late talkers; these include hearing issues, apraxia of speech, and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Those with a sensory processing disorder may have sensory dysfunction (overreacting or underreacting to light, sound, pain, etc.) without having autism.
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and several other neurodevelopmental disorders may look quite similar to autism with low support needs. It can be hard for a nonexpert to tell the difference in some cases.
• Some autistic people with low support needs may test negative for autism in online tests but still be diagnosable by experts.
  

Summary

Many online screening tests are available for adults and children who might have autism. They vary in how much research has gone into them and whether they have been validated. The results may be helpful but are not always definitive. It is important to follow up with a professional evaluation, which you will need for a diagnosis to apply for certain programs and services.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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10. Tufts Medical Center. Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC) User’s Manual.
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By Lisa Jo Rudy
Rudy is a writer, consultant, author, and advocate who specializes in autism. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and Autism Parenting Magazine.

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