Comments on: Autism Quotient, Autism Schmotient

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 18:57:23 +0000

What a great video! For those of us who have friends and family afflicted with autism, humor does go a long way in dealing with it, as does educating one’s self to the social behaviors of the autistic, e.g. the literalness, the mindblindness to other’s responses, the repetition and obsession with singular subjects. Once armed with info and a sense of humor, you can begin to relax and deal with things as they come.

By: Amysilverman

Amysilverman — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:16:17 +0000

Robin and Jennifer — Thank you for your thoughtful responses! I have not taken the test — I looked at the questions and what people on FB were saying about their results (that’s the part that really annoyed me — they were so flip) and got frustrated. I am glad that the test has helped some people, though, and glad you shared the experiences. I do highly recommend the video I linked to, where a dad shares his experience of raising a son with autism. It’s funny, real and really great. The best of luck to both of you and your families!

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:38:20 +0000

I run a large group for families affected with Autism…and what we have found is the test simply invites people to “think” and maybe even discuss what and how we interact…it can be a tool to discover our tendencies for extrovert, introvert, what captures focus, etc…and then dare we take the next step, and possibly imagine what the person with the ASD life actually experiences. It can be a tool for sensitivity. Though I am amused by the people who are “offended” by it and calling it stupid because they or a friend got a high score. I took the test as did my ASD son and his sister. Daughter and I got same score of 19, he got 41. Not a diagnostic tool for sure, but for us, it was a conversation piece for an 11 year old and 12 year old to “see” the differences and maybe even appreciate them. And my ASD son also noted that he wants to be social, it just makes him nervous and he doesn’t really get how to interact with people. Then again, I wonder, how many people do…is that why so many are on facebook…alot easier to interact there vs. face to face… or to text or to blog…etc

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:34:19 +0000

I, myself, took the test, as well as at least 20 of my closest friends. And we too discussed via ourselves on Facebook. But here is the thing. Out of all of us EVERY ONE OF US have either a child with Autism, or is on the spectrum ourselves and wanted to check the “reality” of the test. Truth be told, it was quite accurate with those we had take the test who were NOT on the spectrum and those who WERE, as myself. It is NOT meant to be a diagnosis. It’s just something people wonder about. As a mother of two children with Autism and being on the spectrum myself, I was surprised to see such accurate outcomes. When my boyfriend (who is typical) took the test, he was in the “normal” range. Go figure. And all the talk about Autism…..It is a BIG part of a parent coping and helping with the diagnosis. We NEED to talk about it to know that we are not alone. My boys are EVERYTHING to me. I am NOT ashamed that they have Autism. I am ashamed of how the other “typical” people sometimes treat them. So as the end, do I think that the test was over-rated and made too public? Yeah, it probably was…..BUT on the same note, it was good to see more people wanting to know more on AUTISM!

By: Hallie

Hallie — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:47:01 +0000

I agree, I thought it was stupid too. But I think a lot of things people spend time doing on facebook are silly. Thanks for sharing!