The RAADS-R Autism Test
The 80-question Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised, part of the members’ library. One payment unlocks the full report with sub-scale breakdown and refined 2025 thresholds, together with every test in the library; no subscription.
Table of Contents
What is the RAADS-R?
The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised — RAADS-R — is one of the most widely cited self-report screening instruments for autism spectrum disorder in adults. It was published by Riva Ariella Ritvo and colleagues in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in 2011, designed specifically for adults of average or above-average intelligence who were never assessed as children.
The 80 statements probe both your current life and your experience before age 16, because autism is a developmental condition — adult traits without childhood roots point elsewhere. Items cluster into four domains that together build a profile rather than a single number.
2025 refined scoring
The original 2011 paper used a single cut-off of 65. Recent replication work (Hegarty et al., 2025) introduced a four-tier interpretation that better matches real-world specificity: below 65, 65–105 (gray zone), 106–139 (consistent with autism), and 140+ (pronounced traits). Our results page uses both the historical cut-off and the refined tiers.
Citation
Ritvo, R.A., Ritvo, E.R., Guthrie, D., Ritvo, M.J., Hufnagel, D.H., McMahon, W., Tonge, B., Mataix-Cols, D., Jassi, A., Attwood, T., Eloff, J. (2011). The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R): A Scale to Assist the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(8), 1076–1089.
A profile, not a single score
Each statement contributes to one of four sub-scales. The shape of your profile across the four often matters more than the total.
Language
Pragmatics, idioms, conversational turn-taking, atypical word use, scripted speech.
Social Relatedness
Reading faces, theory of mind, friendships, social rules, masking, isolation, intimacy.
Sensory-Motor
Sensory sensitivities (sound, touch, light, smell, taste), motor coordination, stimming.
Circumscribed Interests
Special interests, deep focus, detail orientation, routines, change intolerance, lists.
Take it in four steps
No account, no email required to take the test. Pay only if you want the full PDF report.
Read each statement
80 statements about how you experience the world, both now and as a younger person.
Pick the closest fit
Four options: True now & younger, only now, only younger, or never true.
See your tier instantly
Total score and your tier (below threshold / gray zone / consistent / pronounced).
Your full report
The four sub-scale breakdown, interpretation and downloadable PDF; one payment unlocks the members’ library, no subscription.
The 2025 refined tiers
The Hegarty et al. (2025) replication study refined the original 65 cut-off into four interpretive tiers that better match real-world specificity in mixed populations.
Why both 65 and the tiers?
The 2011 single-cut-off was validated in a clinical sample where most participants were already suspected of ASD. In broader populations the gray zone (65–105) is large enough to warrant a more nuanced reading. The 2011 cut-off remains useful as a sensitivity threshold; the 2025 tiers improve specificity.
Adults asking 'am I autistic?'
The RAADS-R was specifically designed for the demographic that often slips through childhood screening: adults of average or above-average intelligence whose traits were missed, masked, or attributed to something else.
The RAADS-R is most useful if:
- You're an adult who has never been formally evaluated, but recurring social, sensory, or routine-related struggles have you wondering whether autism explains them.
- You were diagnosed with anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, or a personality disorder, and the treatment fits some of your difficulties but never quite explains the whole picture.
- Someone in your family has been diagnosed and you recognise familiar patterns in yourself.
- You want to bring something concrete to a first appointment with a clinician — a structured profile is more useful than 'I think I might be autistic.'
It's less useful if: you are looking for a definitive diagnosis (no online instrument can provide that), if you are under 16 (the scale was not validated in adolescents), or if you have an intellectual disability that affects self-report (different tools exist for that population).
RAADS-R vs other autism tests
No single screener is perfect. Here's how the RAADS-R fits alongside the other adult autism instruments.
RAADS-R (this test)
Most comprehensive adult self-report. Covers childhood and current traits, includes sensory-motor items. Four-domain profile.
You're here →AQ-10
Quick first-pass screener by Allison & Baron-Cohen (2012). Recommended in NICE guidelines for primary care.
Take the AQ-10 →CAT-Q
The Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire measures social masking — a complementary lens, not a stand-alone screener.
Coming soonCommon questions
The RAADS-R (Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised) is a self-report screening questionnaire for autism spectrum disorder in adults. Developed by Riva Ariella Ritvo and colleagues in 2011, it consists of 80 statements grouped into four sub-scales: Language, Social Relatedness, Sensory-Motor, and Circumscribed Interests.
The original 2011 validation study reported sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 100% with a clinical cut-off of 65. Independent replications including Hegarty et al. (2025) refined these thresholds for general use into four tiers (below 65, 65–105 gray zone, 106–139 consistent, 140+ pronounced). No online screening tool replaces evaluation by a qualified clinician.
Each item is rated 0–3: True now and when I was young (3), True only now (2), True only when younger than 16 (1), Never true (0). Seventeen normative items are reverse-scored. Total range 0–240. The scale produces both an overall total and four sub-scale scores with thresholds of 31 (Social Relatedness), 16 (Sensory-Motor), 15 (Circumscribed Interests), and 4 (Language).
Below 65: low likelihood of autism, high specificity for ruling out ASD. 65–105: gray zone — possible autism traits but other conditions can produce overlap. 106–139: consistent with autism, specificity around 81% in adult populations. 140+: very strong indication of ASD; false positives uncommon.
No. The RAADS-R is a screening instrument, not a diagnostic tool. It cannot replace a clinical interview, observation, and developmental history conducted by a qualified mental health professional. A high score warrants further evaluation; a low score does not definitively rule out autism, especially when traits have been masked.
The AQ (Autism-Spectrum Quotient) by Baron-Cohen and colleagues comes in 50-item and 10-item (AQ-10) forms. AQ is a quicker first-pass filter with simpler scoring. The RAADS-R is more comprehensive: it covers childhood and adult traits, includes sensory-motor items absent from AQ, and produces a four-domain profile rather than a single number. Both tests are in the members’ library, and the RAADS-R comes with a full four-domain report.
The RAADS-14 Screen is a shortened 14-item version derived from the original 80-item RAADS-R, intended for rapid screening in psychiatric outpatient settings — a triage tool rather than a comprehensive profile. The full RAADS-R provides four sub-scale scores that can guide which areas to explore in a clinical interview.
The RAADS-R was developed before DSM-5 (2013) collapsed Asperger's, autistic disorder, and PDD-NOS into a single autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. It still works well at identifying the cognitive profile historically labelled as Asperger's, but it does not differentiate between former DSM-IV subtypes.
The RAADS-R is part of the members’ library. One payment, no subscription, unlocks it together with the other tests in the library, your exact IQ score and the full IQ report. The full RAADS-R report covers your sub-scale breakdown, a detailed interpretation against the 2025 refined thresholds and personalized reflections on the four-domain profile. Payments fund continued maintenance and translation of the site.
References
- Ritvo, R. A., Ritvo, E. R., Guthrie, D., et al. (2011). The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R): A scale to assist the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(8), 1076–1089. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1133-5
- Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17. doi:10.1023/A:1005653411471