What the number actually means
The score you have is the total of 80 answers, each worth 0 to 3 points, giving a range of 0 to 240. It is not a percentage, not an IQ-style score, and not a probability. It is a count of how many experiences you recognised and how strongly.
Four bands are in common use for questionnaires built on this model. They are shown below with the evidence behind each, because the differences between them matter more than most websites admit.
| Score | Band | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 64 | Below the screening threshold | Under the original 2011 cutoff |
| 65 – 105 | Above the 65 threshold | The original cutoff — the one later research disputes most |
| 106 – 139 | Most associated with autism | Derived from a far larger clinical dataset |
| 140 + | Pronounced traits | Above every published threshold |
Why the 65 threshold is disputed
65 is the number almost every website quotes, and it comes from the original 2011 validation study, which compared 201 diagnosed autistic adults against 578 comparison participants and reported essentially perfect separation between the groups.
The problem is not the arithmetic. It is who was in the study. Comparing diagnosed autistic adults with general-population controls is the easiest possible test for any screening instrument, because the two groups differ in many ways at once. Real users of an online test are not that tidy.
Four later studies looked at what happens in settings where the question is genuinely uncertain:
- 2015. Non-autistic people with other psychiatric conditions scored on average 27 points above the 65 cutoff. The authors suggested raising it to 98.
- 2020. In UK mental health services, specificity fell as low as 3%, and more than half of service users scored above 65. The authors suggested 120 to 126.
- 2021. In a specialist autism assessment service, the cutoff had an area under the curve of 0.45 — statistically worse than guessing — with a positive predictive value of about 35%.
- 2021. A separate study found false positive rates above 50% in psychiatric populations.
So what should you use instead?
Three things, in order of usefulness:
- Read the profile, not the total. A score of 90 made up almost entirely of Sensory-Motor items means something quite different from a score of 90 spread evenly across all four areas. The first pattern points towards sensory processing differences; the second is the more typical autistic profile.
- Use the higher thresholds as the meaningful line. If you want a single number that behaves more like the 2011 study promised, 106 is a better one than 65. Above 140, almost every published threshold agrees.
- Treat the result as a reason to ask a question, not as an answer. The only thing a score above any threshold reliably tells you is that a formal assessment would be a reasonable use of your time.
What each of the four areas measures
Social Relatedness
The largest section, and the one that usually drives the total. It covers reading other people, managing conversation, eye contact, friendship, and the effort involved in all of it. A high score here often shows up as exhaustion after socialising rather than dislike of people — a distinction that gets missed constantly.
Circumscribed Interests
Depth and persistence of interest, routine, sameness, and attention to detail. A high score here on its own is not unusual; combined with a high Social score it is more meaningful.
Language
The smallest section. Literal interpretation, formality of speech, difficulty with open-ended questions. Because it is only seven items, this score is the least stable of the four — one or two answers move it a lot, so read it with more caution than the others.
Sensory-Motor
Sensitivity to sound, light, touch, texture and smell, along with coordination and body awareness. This is frequently the area people are most surprised by, because sensory experiences tend to feel like personal quirks rather than part of a pattern.
What to do next
If you want a formal assessment
The route depends on where you live, but the usual first step is a GP or primary care doctor who can refer you to an adult autism assessment service. Bringing a written history helps far more than a test score: school reports, things family members have said over the years, specific examples of situations you find difficult and why.
What a real assessment involves
Typically several hours with a clinician, a developmental history going back to childhood, structured interviews, and often input from someone who knew you as a child. Questionnaires like this one may form part of the intake, but no clinician diagnoses from a questionnaire alone.
If you are not seeking a diagnosis
That is a legitimate position and a common one. Many adults find that recognising the pattern is itself the useful part — it changes how they arrange work, rest and relationships without any formal label. The accommodations that help autistic people are mostly available to anyone who asks for them.
This test uses original questions written for this site. It follows the published four-area structure and 0–240 scoring model used by well-known adult screening questionnaires, but it is not the RAADS-R, is not affiliated with its authors, and its results are not interchangeable with a clinician-administered instrument.