The purpose of the study behind this instrument was to develop a screening instrument to aid in the identification of patients who may have undiagnosed ASD.

Please respond with the answer that most accurately describes how each of the statements below applies to you. For the purposes of this test, “When I was Young” refers to the age of 17 or younger.

  True Now & When Young True Only Now True When I Was Young Never True
1. It is difficult for me to understand how other people are feeling when we are talking.
2. Some ordinary textures that do not bother others feel very offensive when they touch my skin.
3. It is very difficult for me to work and function in groups.
4. It is difficult to figure out what other people expect of me.
5. I often don’t know how to act in social situations.
6. I can chat and make small talk with people.
7. When I feel overwhelmed by my senses, I have to isolate myself to shut them down.
8. How to make friends and socialize is a mystery to me.
9. When talking to someone, I have a hard time telling when it is my turn to talk or to listen.
10. Sometimes I have to cover my ears to block out painful noises (like vacuum cleaners or people talking too much or too loudly).
11. It can be very hard to read someone’s face, hand, and body movements when we are talking.
12. I focus on details rather than the overall idea.
13. I take things too literally, so I often miss what people are trying to say.
14. I get extremely upset when the way I like to do things is suddenly changed.
Sources
  1. JM Eriksson, LM Andersen, & S Bejerot. . Molecular Autism, (4):49.