---
name: autism-assessment
description: Use when asked to administer, score, or explain an Autism Assessment — screening with the AQ-10 questionnaire plus sensory/developmental profiling — grounded in FormExamples/form-examples.
---

# Autism Assessment

Autism spectrum screening using the AQ-10 questionnaire with sensory
and developmental profiling.

## Scoring

**Instrument:** AQ-10 (Autism Spectrum Quotient, 10-item). Range 0–10.

- **0–5** — below threshold.
- **≥ 6** — referral for diagnostic assessment recommended.

## What it covers

Demographics; screening purpose and referral context; the ten AQ-10
screening questions; social communication and interaction patterns;
repetitive behaviours and restricted interests; sensory profile
(sensitivities and processing differences); developmental history
(early milestones, childhood history); current support needs and
accommodations; and family history of autism and related conditions.

## Common pitfalls

- **Treating the AQ-10 as diagnostic** — it's a brief screener
  indicating who should be referred for full diagnostic assessment, not
  a diagnosis in itself.
- **Skipping sensory profiling** — sensory sensitivities are a core,
  often underweighted part of the autism presentation, and are easy to
  miss if the assessment focuses narrowly on the AQ-10 score.
- **Assuming a single presentation** — autism presents very differently
  across individuals (masking, differing support needs); a
  one-size-fits-all interpretation of the screener risks both false
  reassurance and unnecessary alarm.

## Learn more

- [FormExamples: autism-assessment](https://github.com/FormExamples/form-examples/tree/main/forms/autism-assessment) for the full implementation, clinical references, and worked examples.
- [[learning-disability-assessment]] for a related developmental assessment.