This is one of a series of discussion posts based on questions from the AQ-10 autism test.

4. I usually concentrate more on the whole picture, rather than the small details.

  • Definitely Agree
  • Slightly Agree
  • Slightly Disagree
  • Definitely Disagree

Is this statement true for you? Can you think of any examples? Is it an easy or difficult question for you to answer?

You can take the full AQ-10 test here. Note this test is intended as a quick screener, and cannot diagnose or rule out any condition on its own.

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  • @[email protected]English
    4•1 year ago

    Disclaimer: I am not diagnosed, but I am looking into it and I am scoring high on tests.

    I believe the meaning of these questions is subjective. To my understanding the process to create those questionnaires looks like the following:

    1. A bunch of people are asked a bunch of questions
    2. They answered with little to no guidance
    3. A set of questions was picked with a threshold that maximizes sensitivity and specificity (and other scary math).

    I am oversimplifying but I hope you get the idea, people answered on their own interpretation of the question and still autistic people choose some answers more often than people outside the spectrum.

    Not that answering subjectively is any easier, it’s just that looking for an objective answer may be impossible.

    My answer is “slightly disagree”, my knee jerk reaction to most situations is to look at details until I see patterns forming and I am able to look at the whole picture. I have trained myself to take a step back and look at things as a whole once in a while but if I am tired I tend to forget it.

    An example I have used when explaining that to neurotypicals is dot-work paintings, I first notice the individual dots and then I see the painting as a whole. The transition takes a few seconds but it’s not long enough that anyone besides me would notice.