Autism spectrum: 23 questionnaires and rating scales

The CAT-Q is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure social camouflaging strategies in people with autistic traits. It explores the ways in which a person masks, compensates for, or adapts their social behavior in order to appear more in line with neurotypical expectations. It provides valuable clinical information on the psychological cost of social adaptation, social fatigue, autistic identity, and possible gaps between observed functioning and subjective experience.

The TOMQ-36 is an observational questionnaire for children aged 6 to 9, completed by an adult who knows the child well. It explores theory of mind skills, that is, the ability to understand that others may have emotions, thoughts, intentions, beliefs, desires, and points of view different from one's own. Based on everyday situations, it draws up a descriptive clinical profile that is useful for identifying the child's strengths and vulnerabilities, guiding the interview, refining observation, and monitoring progress over the course of support.

The M-CHAT-R/F is an early autism screening tool designed to identify young children at increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It consists of a questionnaire completed by parents, followed by a follow-up interview for at-risk cases, in order to increase screening accuracy.

The ADOS-2 is a semi-structured, standardized assessment tool used to diagnose autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and measure symptom severity. It is based on the direct observation of social behavior, communication, play and imagination. The ADOS-2 includes several modules adapted to the age and language level of the person being assessed. This test must be administered by a trained clinician.

The ClaCoS is a clinical battery for assessing social cognition in adults, designed to objectively assess the social difficulties reported in psychiatry and to guide treatment. It combines a subjective measure and objective tasks exploring the main domains of social cognition: emotion recognition, social perception and knowledge, theory of mind and attributional style. It is particularly useful in adults with psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia spectrum disorders and autism spectrum disorder, but can also be used in other clinical or research contexts. Its main value lies in identifying a detailed functional profile that can be used directly for neuropsychological assessment, cognitive remediation, psychoeducation and therapeutic follow-up.

The ECI-4 is a questionnaire designed to collect information from parents or educators about the behavior of young children (aged 3 to 6) with respect to various psychiatric disorders according to DSM-IV criteria. It allows rapid screening for symptoms related to behavioral disorders, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, mood disorders and other early-onset conditions.

The SRS-2 assesses the severity of the characteristic social deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It measures five main domains of social behavior: social awareness, social cognition, social communication, social motivation, and restricted and repetitive autistic behaviors. The tool can be completed by parents, teachers, or the individuals themselves, depending on age.

The ADI-R is a structured interview scale designed to diagnose autism spectrum disorder. It provides an in-depth assessment of behavioral and communication disorders through an interview with the patient's parents or relatives.

The ACSo is a brief self-report questionnaire on social cognition designed to identify subjective complaints in daily life. It explores four domains that are clinically useful in psychology and psychiatry: attributional biases, social perception and knowledge, emotional processes, and theory of mind. Developed in French from a transdiagnostic perspective, it is mainly used with adults who have a psychiatric disorder or a neurodevelopmental disorder with a sociocognitive impact, notably schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or autism spectrum disorder. Its main value is to add a measure of the patient's subjective experience to the objective assessment, which is useful for preparing psychosocial rehabilitation, targeting therapeutic goals, and monitoring changes in perceived difficulties.

The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) is used to assess social communication in children and adolescents. It is mainly used to screen for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can be used from the age of 4. It is based on a structured interview and observes verbal and nonverbal behaviors.

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a screening tool that measures the degree of autistic traits in adults. It is often used to assess individuals with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but it is not designed to replace a professional diagnosis. The test includes questions spread across five different dimensions of behavior and personality typically associated with ASD.

The RBQ-3 is a 20-item questionnaire designed to assess restricted and repetitive behaviors, particularly in the context of autism spectrum disorder. It explores, in particular, routines and rituals, resistance to change, restricted interests, repetitive sensorimotor behaviors, and certain repetitive behaviors involving objects. The tool is available in a self-report version and an observer-rated version, allowing use across the lifespan depending on the level of autonomy of the person assessed. In clinical practice, it helps clarify the behavioral profile, complement a diagnostic assessment, and objectify manifestations that are often barely visible in an unstructured interview.

The SQ-R is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure an individual's level of systemizing, that is, the drive to analyze, explore and construct systems. It is mainly used in research on individual differences and in the context of autism.

The AQ-Child is a screening questionnaire completed by a parent or caregiver to estimate the intensity of autistic traits in children aged 4 to 11. It comprises 50 items exploring social skills, attention switching, attention to detail, communication and imagination. This tool is mainly useful for clinical screening, referral for specialized assessment and research, particularly when the aim is to objectively document behaviors consistent with autism spectrum disorder. It helps structure parental observation but does not replace a full clinical diagnosis.

The Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire is a self-report tool designed to measure sensory features in adults. Initially developed to identify sensory differences in people with autism spectrum disorder, it assesses both hyper- and hyposensitivities across different sensory domains, such as vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste and proprioception.

The ASSQ is a screening tool designed to identify the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents. It is usually completed by parents or teachers who know the child well. It helps detect early signs suggestive of ASD in order to guide referral for a comprehensive assessment.

The RAADS-R is a screening scale designed to assist in the diagnosis of autism in adults, particularly in people with symptoms consistent with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. It aims to identify difficulties in the areas of social interaction, communication, restricted interests and atypical sensory behaviors.

The DASI-2 is a semi-structured clinical interview designed to support the diagnostic assessment of autism spectrum disorder in individuals over 2 years of age. It is intended for psychologists and other clinicians and is directly aligned with DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria. The tool systematically explores developmental history, social communication, restricted and repetitive behaviors, functional impact, the presence of symptoms across multiple settings, and compensatory strategies such as masking. It also includes prompts about possible comorbidities and can be supplemented by a structured observation record covering communication, emotional understanding, social understanding, imagination, and general presentation.

The Friendship Quotient (FQ) is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure an individual's ability to establish, maintain, and enjoy friendships. It is mainly used to screen for social difficulties in people with autism spectrum disorder, but it can also be used to assess social skills in the general population.

The Empathy Quotient (EQ) is a questionnaire designed to measure a person's ability to recognize and understand the emotions of others. It is often used in clinical assessments, particularly to detect traits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The GQ-ASC is a brief self-report questionnaire designed to identify autistic traits that are often under-identified in adult women, particularly when the clinical presentation is masked, internalized or compensated. It explores five dimensions that are useful in clinical practice: imagination and play, social camouflaging, sensory sensitivities, socialization and interests. This tool is especially relevant for initial screening, to guide the clinical interview and to support the decision to refer for an in-depth ASD diagnostic assessment. It can be particularly useful for patients with a late diagnosis, long-standing social difficulties, significant social fatigue, marked sensory differences or associated anxiety-depressive presentations.

The SPCR (or PSP-R) is a clinical checklist for identifying sensory and perceptual functioning, mainly used with people with autism spectrum disorder. It explores in detail sensory processing differences by modality (vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, vestibular, proprioception) and by different response profiles, such as hyperreactivity, hyporeactivity, fluctuations, sensory overload, or certain perceptual differences. It is mainly useful for structuring the clinical interview, objectively documenting the observations of the people around the individual, and guiding hypotheses for individualized accommodations. It is more a clinical profiling tool than a standardized psychometric test, and its interpretation must be integrated into a comprehensive assessment.

The child EQ-SQ is an observer-rated questionnaire, usually completed by a parent, designed to assess two dimensions of cognitive style described by the empathizing-systemizing theory in children aged 4 to 11: empathy, that is, the ability to identify and understand other people's mental and emotional states and to respond to them appropriately, and systemizing, that is, interest in regularities, rules, categories, and how systems work. The tool comprises 55 items mixing the two dimensions in order to limit response bias. It is mainly used in research and as a complementary clinical measure of the socio-cognitive profile, particularly in exploring developmental particularities and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.