The Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient Test (abbreviated to AQ) is a medium-length (50 question) questionnaire designed to measure the expression of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) traits in adults (16+) through subjective self-assessment.
It was first published in 2001 by Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the Cambridge Autism Research Centre as part of a larger study into Asperger Syndrome in high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians.
Results on the AQ as well as its five subscales are presented relative to how others both with and without formal ASD diagnoses respond to the same questions.
The AQ is not a diagnostic assessment.