A score of 6 or more on the AQ-10 does not mean you are autistic. It means a specialist assessment may be worth considering. A lower score does not rule autism out either.
What is the AQ-10?
The AQ-10 is a short questionnaire about autistic traits in adults. Its 10 questions come from the Autism Spectrum Quotient, a 50-question questionnaire created at the University of Cambridge.
Carrie Allison, Bonnie Auyeung and Simon Baron-Cohen published this short version in 2012. It was meant to help frontline professionals decide whether or not to refer someone for a full assessment. So it is not a diagnostic tool.
How is the score calculated?
Each question scores 0 or 1 point. You get the point when your answer leans towards an autistic trait, whether you "slightly" or "definitely" agree (or disagree, depending on the question). The final score goes from 0 to 10.
The AQ-10 test on Find your neurotype uses this official scoring: your score is out of 10, and the highest level starts at the cut-off of 6.
What does a score of 6 or more mean?
It is the cut-off chosen by the authors of the AQ-10. Since June 2021, NICE, the UK health guidance body, also states that a comprehensive assessment should be offered from a score of 6.
This number helps decide on a next step, not to reach a conclusion. NICE also says that clinical judgement and the person's history can justify an assessment too.
If you read elsewhere that the cut-off is 7, it comes from an older NICE wording ("above 6"), corrected in 2021. A 2025 analysis of 25 research data sets (13,692 participants) shows that this one-point difference matters a lot: 36.8% of the people classed above the cut-off with the "6 or more" rule scored exactly 6, so they would fall below a cut-off of 7.
Why the studies seem to contradict each other
Two often-cited studies give very different results, because they did not test the questionnaire on the same people.
| Study | People compared | Picks up autistic people (sensitivity) | Rules out non-autistic people (specificity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allison et al., 2012 | 449 autistic adults and 838 controls | 88% | 91% |
| Ashwood et al., 2016 | 425 adults already referred to a specialist service (AQ-10 score calculated from their AQ-50 answers) | 77% | 28% |
In the first study, the test had to tell people already diagnosed apart from controls. That is the most favourable situation.
In the second, everyone had already been referred because autism was suspected. There, the questionnaire was very poor at telling apart those who were finally diagnosed from the others. Overall, 73% of the participants were diagnosed. The figure rises to 76% above the cut-off, but about two thirds of the people below the cut-off were diagnosed as well.
What this means for you
What a score is worth depends on your starting point, as these two cases show.
You take the test out of curiosity. Take 1,000 adults, the 1.1% prevalence estimated in adults in England, and Allison's very favourable figures. About 10 autistic people would score above the cut-off, and so would about 89 non-autistic people. In this theoretical calculation, only one high score in ten would belong to an autistic person.
You have been wondering for a long time. A low score is not enough to close the question, as Ashwood's study shows. Its authors also note that generalised anxiety can push the score up without any autism.
What to do after your result
- If your score is high and difficulties persist: talk to your GP or family doctor, who can refer you to a psychiatrist, a psychologist trained in autism or a specialist adult autism service.
- If your score is low but the doubt remains: do not stop at this number. Write down what makes you wonder and ask for an opinion anyway.
- In both cases: note concrete examples from your daily life and your childhood. Someone who has known you for a long time can help too.
Assessments can take a long time. Our guide on waiting for an ADHD or autism assessment explains what you can usefully do in the meantime.
Which test to take next?
- AQ-10 test: a quick check, in 3 minutes.
- AQ-50 test: a more detailed profile, with five subscale scores.
- CAT-Q test: measures masking, useful if your score feels far from what you live.
These questionnaires are self-assessment tools. Only a trained professional can make a diagnosis.
Sources
- Allison C., Auyeung B., Baron-Cohen S. (2012), Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Ashwood K. L. et al. (2016), Psychological Medicine
- NICE CG142, update information
- Waldren L. H. et al. (2025), Psychological Assessment
- Brugha T. S. et al. (2016), British Journal of Psychiatry (prevalence of autism in adults in England)