Abstract
The Autism Spectrum Quotient—Children’s Version (AQ-Child) is a parent-report questionnaire that aims to quantify autistic traits in children 4–11 years old. The range of scores on the AQ-Child is 0–150. It was administered to children with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) (n = 540) and a general population sample (n = 1,225). Results showed a significant difference in scores between those with an ASC diagnosis and the general population. Receiver-operating-characteristic analyses showed that using a cut-off score of 76, the AQ-Child has high sensitivity (95%) and specificity (95%). The AQ-Child showed good test–retest reliability and high internal consistency. Factor analysis provided support for four of the five AQ-Child design subscales. Future studies should evaluate how the AQ-C performs in population screening.
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Notes
The concept of the broader autism phenotype has emerged from research which suggests that in addition to causing autism, the genetic liability for this disorder may also be expressed, in the nonautistic relatives of autistic individuals, through behavioral and cognitive characteristics that are milder but qualitatively similar to the defining features of autism.
Formerly known as the Childhood Asperger syndrome test, but renamed keeping the same acronym because it can be used for all subgroups on the autistic spectrum.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Nancy Lurie-Marks Family Foundation and the MRC, UK. Bonnie Auyeung was supported by a scholarship from Trinity College, Cambridge. We are grateful to the families who have taken part in this study over several years and to Rosa Hoekstra and Nigel Goldenfeld for valuable discussions.
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Appendix 1: The Autism Spectrum Quotient—Children’s Version (AQ-Child)
Appendix 1: The Autism Spectrum Quotient—Children’s Version (AQ-Child)
Definitely Agree | Slightly Agree | Slightly Disagree | Definitely Disagree | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. S/he prefers to do things with others rather than on her/his own | ||||
2. S/he prefers to do things the same way over and over again | ||||
3. If s/he tries to imagine something, s/he finds it very easy to create a picture in her/his mind | ||||
4. S/he frequently gets so strongly absorbed in one thing that s/he loses sight of other things | ||||
5. S/he often notices small sounds when others do not | ||||
6. S/he usually notices house numbers or similar strings of informationa | ||||
7. S/he has difficulty understanding rules for polite behaviora | ||||
8. When s/he is reading a story, s/he can easily imagine what the characters might look likea | ||||
9. S/he is fascinated by dates | ||||
10. In a social group, s/he can easily keep track of several different people’s conversations | ||||
11. S/he finds social situations easy | ||||
12. S/he tends to notice details that others do not | ||||
13. S/he would rather go to a library than a birthday partya | ||||
14. S/he finds making up stories easy | ||||
15. S/he is drawn more strongly to people than to thingsa | ||||
16. S/he tends to have very strong interests, which s/he gets upset about if s/he cannot pursue | ||||
17. S/he enjoys social chit-chat | ||||
18. When s/he talks, it is not always easy for others to get a word in edgeways | ||||
19. S/he is fascinated by numbers | ||||
20. When s/he is reading a story, s/he finds it difficult to work out the characters’ intentions or feelingsa | ||||
21. S/he does not particularly enjoy fictional storiesa | ||||
22. S/he finds it hard to make new friends | ||||
23. S/he notices patterns in things all the time | ||||
24. S/he would rather go to the cinema than a museuma | ||||
25. It does not upset him/her if his/her daily routine is disturbed | ||||
26. S/he does not know how to keep a conversation going with her/his peersa | ||||
27. S/he finds it easy to “read between the lines” when someone is talking to her/him | ||||
28. S/he usually concentrates more on the whole picture, rather than the small details | ||||
29. S/he is not very good at remembering phone numbers | ||||
30. S/he does not usually notice small changes in a situation, or a person’s appearance | ||||
31. S/he knows how to tell if someone listening to him/her is getting bored | ||||
32. S/he finds it easy to go back and forth between different activitiesa | ||||
33. When s/he talks on the phone, s/he is not sure when it is her/his turn to speak | ||||
34. S/he enjoys doing things spontaneously | ||||
35. S/he is often the last to understand the point of a joke. | ||||
36. S/he finds it easy to work out what someone is thinking or feeling just by looking at their face | ||||
37. If there is an interruption, s/he can switch back to what s/he was doing very quickly | ||||
38. S/he is good at social chit-chat | ||||
39. People often tell her/him that s/he keeps going on and on about the same thing | ||||
40. When s/he was in preschool, s/he used to enjoy playing games involving pretending with other childrena | ||||
41. S/he likes to collect information about categories of things (e.g., types of car, types of bird, types of train, types of plant, etc.) | ||||
42. S/he finds it difficult to imagine what it would be like to be someone else | ||||
43. S/he likes to plan any activities s/he participates in carefully | ||||
44. S/he enjoys social occasions | ||||
45. S/he finds it difficult to work out people’s intentions | ||||
46. New situations make him/her anxious | ||||
47. S/he enjoys meeting new people | ||||
48. S/he is good at taking care not to hurt other people’s feelingsa | ||||
49. S/he is not very good at remembering people’s date of birth | ||||
50. S/he finds it very to easy to play games with children that involve pretending |
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Auyeung, B., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S. et al. The Autism Spectrum Quotient: Children’s Version (AQ-Child). J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1230–1240 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0504-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0504-z