Am I Autistic? And How Do I Know?
The quiz on this page is not diagnostic in nature and is intended for introspective use only. Language note: We honor both identity-first language (e.g., “autistic person”) and person-first language (e.g., “person with autism”). Please use what fits you.
Greetings #
A quick Google search reveals that “Autistic Test Free” is a top hit. Here at Balanced Life Solutions, we love tests; so we’re going to give you a free, one-of-a-kind test to help you reflectively prepare for a meaningful autism evaluation! It’s time for 20 Questions, y’all! 💜
1 You are the expert on your life: #
Why do you think you may be autistic? 🌱🌼∞
2 Autism is often genetic: #
Do you suspect or know that a relative is autistic, and if so, who? 🤨🧩🧬
3 Autism may heighten social and sensory perceptions simultaneously: #
Which aspects of sociosensorial life feel daunting, and how do you deal? 🤯🙏
➰ E.G., You may notice everything, unable to filter out irrelevant details. 🔎
- You may become overtaxed by verbal or communicational demands. 🔇🚫😴
- Your cranial computer may crash due to a surplus of open tabs. 💻☹ 🟦 #BSOD! #HaveYouTriedUnpluggingItAndPluggingItBackInAgain?
4 Autists may coin neologisms for lack of better words or due to dysnomia: #
What are some nonvocabulary words that you have invented to convey your point? 💡
➰ E.G., “Kerfluffle” 😾⚔️😾
What nouns do you frequently struggle to locate when speaking? ❓ ×20
➰ E.G., “The, the-the…” 💭👉… 🌿… 💐… 🥦… 🤷… 🌳 “Tree!”
5 Social communication with allistics can be challenging: #
What aspects of socioemotional reciprocity are difficult for you? 🤝😊🤗
➰ E.G., you may struggle to make and keep friends, preferring to be a loner. 🐢🏝️
- Group conversations may go too fast, or others may ask you too many questions. ⏳💫
- You may avoid initiating interactions at all costs. 🙀🏃
- You might stare blankly, 📄 leaving folks wondering what you’re thinking. 🤔
6 Autists are often monotropic: #
How do you feel when there are competing demands or interruptions? ✋🥈🥉🚜
Do you become engrossed in a single task, losing touch with reality? (Hyperfocus) ☁️🌟
7 Autists may have hypersensitivities, hyposensitivities, or both: #
Which stimuli are so intense that they break your brain and make you recoil? 🔊😱🙉
Which stimuli feel underwhelming, 😒 and which feel entertaining or soothing? 🧶🖊️🖱️
Which stimuli could pound at your door all night without you ever noticing? 👊🚪🚫
- We best be hoping that the latter is not a cat burglar… 🐈🦹😂
8 Autists may repeat phrases or versions thereof (echolalia, scripting): #
What phrases or quotes do you say on a regular basis, and how do you say them? 📜🦇💬
Do these feel satisfying, or even compulsory, to say? 🗣️😌😥🙂
Do they help you to communicate when you don’t know what to say? 📝🦜🍘
- “Meow!” 😺
9 Repetitive behaviors are common for autists: #
What sorts of behaviors do you engage in over and over again? 🔁
Can you pinpoint why? (x, y) How does this help or hurt you? 📙☠☮
➰ E.G., You may eat the same food or rewatch an episode for comfort and familiarity. 🍕📺
- You may gnaw on your bloody cuticles to smoothen them or calm your nerves. 💅🅰🚑
- You may shake your leg rapidly when concentrating or rhythmically to mental music. 😣🦵𝄆
- You may rock back and forth when feeling happy or to manage fatigue and stress. ↔️
10 Autists often have highly specific and fixed interests: #
What are your favorite things to do or think about? 🤩😍
How much time, money, or energy do you spend on these activities? ⏱️💸🔋
How does this tendency work to your advantage or your detriment? ✓🎰 ≠ ❌🚽
➰ E.G., You may curiously research endless questions, thus missing out on sleep. 📖🧪🌌😫
- You may hoard a growing collection of hundreds of Build-A-Bears. 🧸🐼🐻
- You may have organized your entire life around your interest, doing it as a vocation. 🎸🎵
11 Autism can impact speech and communication: #
How do you communicate? What strategies do you use to communicate? 📬✉︎📮
➰ E.G., You may experience stuttering or selective mutism under social pressure. 🎤😟😶
- You may be pedantically verbose about your special interests. ⏩ 🤓
- You may speak in a disorganized or tangential manner. ⏪ 😵💫
- You may often pause for a long time when trying to communicate in a loud room. 📢 ⏸️ 🥶
- You may use alternative communications such as writing, pictures, or signs. 📓🖍️📱📷👌
12 Autists often experience social anxiety: #
How do you perceive yourself socially?
How have bullying or exclusion impacted you? 😢😠🙄
How does your social anxiety manifest, and in which contexts? 😰
➰ E.G., You may fear judgment, embarrassment, rejection, or appearing anxious. 😳
- You may painstakingly rehearse how to interject or interrupt. ✍️✏️📋
- You may guess at hidden rules for social survival and sense-making. 📏⚖️
13 It is common to have multiple conditions when you already have one: #
Do you have other conditions besides suspected or self-diagnosed autism? +
How do these resemble, exacerbate, complement, differ from, or interact with each other? 🥚🥣
➰ E.G., Conditions that commonly concur with autism include, but are not limited to:
- Ehlers Danlos Syndrome; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome;
- Mast Cell Activation Syndrome; ADHD; OCD; anxiety; depression; complex trauma;
- Epilepsy; intellectual disability; learning disability; giftedness; congenital blindness.
14 Autists often express and experience emotions in different ways: #
Would you describe yourself as a thinker or a feeler? ☯
Do you overintellectualize your feelings, 👓 or are they overwhelmingly intense? 🔆
Do you struggle to explain or understand your feelings? (Alexithymia) 📦
Do you gather exhaustive data to decide how someone is feeling? (Analytical empathizer) 🖩
Do you absorb others’ emotions just by entering the room? (Dysregulated empath) 🧽
15 Meltdowns and shutdowns are common reactions to overstimulation: #
Do you have meltdowns or shutdowns? What feelings and situations trigger them? 🎛️🎚️🌡️
Do you cry, yell, growl, panic, flail, or outburst? 💥
Do you go quiet, block out light and noise, rock back and forth, and feel burned out? 🧠🌫️
Do you wait until you get home to let it happen, or are you unable to delay the process? 💩
16 Executive dysfunction often impacts autists: #
How do you handle changes in plans and expectations? 😲
How do you react to surprise visitors? 🐈🦹 How long do you take to readjust? 🐌⚡
Do you struggle to think ahead, 🔭 or are you constantly preparing for what’s next? 📅
Are you a neat freak 🧼 or a hot mess? 🌀
Do you know what the date is today? 🎂 Are you chronically late or compulsively early? 🕕
Do you remember every detail vividly, 🧐 or do you lose and forget many things? 🔦
Do you get distracted or tune others out when they try to show you something? 🐿️😕
Are you still paying attention? 🤣
17 Autists may experience tone, inflection, and underlying meaning differently: #
Do you communicate animatedly 🎶 or in a steady tone, 😑 or does it depend? %
Are you concisely factual 📊 or extensively elaborate? 📚
Are you sensitive to criticism and offending others, 😭 or are you blunt and direct? 🚀
Do you feel like folks expect you to read their minds, or like they can already read yours? 🔮
18 Affect, gestures, and eye contact differ in autists: #
Do you make emphatic or rigid gestures, or none at all? 👋🙌🖕🤭🙅♂️
Do you make intense eye contact, or does your soul avoid being stared into? 🙈
Do you need to face away from someone when speaking or listening? 😆/😖
Do you make cartoon faces, show strong emotions, or stay neutral? 🤪😜😔😐
19 Masking and compensation can be sneaky: #
How do you suppress, internalize, or camouflage your neurodivergent traits? 🦎🚙
Does social sense-making regularly demand your deliberate cognitive effort? 🧠🍟🥄
How do you manage in a society that is structured neurotypically? 🎭🏙️🏗️
How do you accommodate and honor your unique needs? 😎 🎧 🌻 ♿ 🧑🏿🦯
20 The classic counseling question! 🥁 #
So, when did you start feeling this way? 🧑🏽⚕️🛋️
How would you describe your ways of thinking and feeling differently than others? 🕵️⚂
How do your challenges impact your functioning? ⏰🚿🏫💁♀️🛒🍸
How would you feel if you found out that you’re autistic? 🧠🌈♾️😮🥳
Or, how would you feel if your hunch was close, but something else? 🔬🚭🎁✨😊
SCORING: 🎼 #
If you lost count of everything that resonated with you, ✌️ then congratulations! 💯 You sure could use a formal assessment. 👍 Good thing we offer that here at BLS! 😉 😼