Autism-spectrum quotient

The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) is a questionnaire published in 2001 by Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, UK. Consisting of fifty questions, it aims to investigate whether adults of average intelligence (defined as an IQ of 80 or higher by the questionnaire) have symptoms of autism spectrum conditions. More recently, versions of the AQ for children and adolescents have also been published.

The test was popularised by Wired in December 2001 when published alongside their article, "The Geek Syndrome". It is commonly used for self diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, although it is not intended to be a diagnostic test. The PhenX Toolkit uses age-specific versions of AQ as its adult and adolescent screening protocols for Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders.