For this week’s test, it’s important that you know nothing about the test so you’ll have to take it and then read about it. First, watch this short silent animation (1:30) of some geometric shapes:
Now write a brief description of what happened in the animation. If you need to rewatch the video to refresh your memory of the details, you can. Just don’t read anything about the video before you finish writing your description.
Done? Okay, now it’s safe to read on.
Those of you who didn’t like the flashing photos in the last two tests will be relieved to know that this week’s test is a series of multiple choice questions. The Personality and Emotion test at Test My Brain looks at three areas:
how frequently you experience negative emotions like fear, worry, anger, frustration, and self-consciousness
how sensory seeking you are
how much you enjoy social interaction
Their working hypothesis is that people who score higher on the second two will score lower on the first. In other words, if you enjoy sensory and/or social aspects of life, you are less likely to experience high levels of negative emotions. I like the inclusion of sensory elements in this test. I’m not “social seeking” but I’m highly sensory seeking. In fact, much of what I find enjoyable about life falls under the heading of sensory input. It’s nice to see that acknowledged as valid, alongside the more traditionally valued social interaction.
I want to talk some more about the individual sections when I share my scores, so let’s take the test first.
The test takes 10 to 15 minutes. To start, go to testmybrain.org and click on the Go! button next to the “Personality and Emotion” test.
You’ll be asked to make your browser window large. I kept mine the size I normally use and it worked fine. The next screen is a simplified informed consent form. You’ll be told what the research is being used for and asked to consent (agree). The next screen collects some anonymous demographic information. Continue reading Taking the Personality and Emotion Test
Last year we took the Famous Faces test to demonstrate how faceblindness works. Famous Faces is somewhat flawed because if you aren’t familiar with most of the celebrities in the test, it gives a less than accurate measure of how good you are recognizing faces.
This week’s test is a better gauge of faceblindness or prosopagnosia. The Matching Faces in Photographs test at Test My Brain is being used by researchers to understand the difference between how we recognize standardized versions of faces under ideal conditions versus how we recognize faces in changing conditions. For example, if you recognize your chemistry professor by his beard and glasses and the fact that you generally encounter him in the chem lab building, you may or may not recognize him at the beach in swim trunks and baseball cap, especially if he’s clean-shaven and not wearing his glasses.
Often, people with prosopagnosia rely on hairstyle, facial hair, glasses, voice, mannerisms, gait, or other “auxiliary” features to identify friends and acquaintances. Some people are mildly faceblind, meaning they recognize close friends and family quite easily but struggle with quickly identifying acquaintances if we meet them “out of context.” Others have difficulty recognizing everyone, even close family members, and may not recognize their own reflection right away. Continue reading Taking the Matching Faces Test
Take a Test Tuesday is back! It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a year since the last Take a Test Tuesday post. In that interim some new tests have popped up online that look interesting so I thought it would be fun to bring back the Tuesday posts for a few weeks. So let’s get started.
This week I took the Life Experiences and Your Cognitive Style test at the awesome Test My Brain website. The tests at Test My Brain are all part of ongoing research, so by taking them you learn some interesting tidbit about yourself and you get to help researchers answer important questions.
The question that this test is trying to answer appears to be how does childhood trauma relate to impulsivity and attention difficulties later in life? This idea has been floating around for nearly a decade. It’s unclear whether adult ADHD may be linked to traumatic childhood experiences or childhood trauma can cause symptoms similar to ADHD in adults. If you want to read more about the research that’s been done on that topic, this article has a lot of links.
The reason this test got me all excited is because the first part of it is a shorter version of the ADHD test that I took during my Asperger’s assessment. Continue reading Taking the Cognitive Style Test
Welcome to week 3 of our survey.
I’ve slightly revised the schedule due to some additional questions that were posted over the weekend. This week we’ll do general coping strategies. Next week we’ll do special skills and fun stuff. When I get back from my great big adventure some time in May, we’ll do acceptance and gender/sexuality/body image.
You all probably know the drill by now, but in case anyone new wanders in: answer as many questions as you like, here or anonymously at Survey Monkey. Talk amongst yourselves about the answers if you like.
Also, you might want to have a look at the last two weeks’ surveys on relationships and sensory sensitivities/work and school strategies. Answers to both are still coming in!
Take the Survey Monkey version here: general coping strategies.
Although some questions reference diagnosis, this is open to all those who identify as on the spectrum (professionally diagnosed, self-diagnosed and suspected aspies/autistics/people with autism).
What positive changes did you make to your life after your diagnosis?
Over-apologising/apologising as a reflex action: Seriously, “sorry” has become my standard greeting to people at uni. Does anyone else do this? Has anyone managed to break the habit? How?
How do you all describe what it’s like to be you to someone else? What do you compare these things to in a way that makes others have that aha! moment? more details here
Does anyone else have issues with conflict/arguments/shouting matches in front of you? How do you deal with this?
Does anyone else have trouble with “future planning”? a little more info here
How do you stay on top of cleaning? What contextual cues do you use to get you to do things around the house?
Do you catastrophise and if so, have you strategies for managing it?
Do you experience emotional distress, such as depression and grieving, in unusual ways, such as increased sensory challenges or physical pain?
Do you have trouble speaking at a normal pace? Do you have any tips for modulating your voice?
Have you experienced chronic fatigue or chronic pain? Do you have other chronic illnesses? If so, do you think autistic traits such as poor emotional awareness and sensory differences such as oversensitivity to pain or muscle discomfort have any effect on these?
The response to the relationship survey last week was fantastic! People continued adding answers all week, so you might want to pop back there and read the latest responses if you haven’t.
This week we have 8 questions about sensory sensitivities and 6 about work/school. You can answer here in the comments or anonymously at Survey Monkey. I’ll bring the Survey Monkey answers over and paste them as comments.
A reminder: this is open to all those who identify as on the spectrum (professionally diagnosed, self-diagnosed and suspected aspies/autistics/people with autism). Answer as many or as few questions as you choose. Tell us about yourself. Have fun!
I’m so excited by how many answers each person got to their question last week. Y’all are awesome. On to the questions . . .
Survey Monkey has a 10 question limit per survey so I had to make 2: sensory sensitivities and work/school strategies.
Does anyone else in the adult autistic blog-munity have issues with temperature sensitivity? If you have issues with heat, how do you cope with summer weather? With the effects of exercise? more details here
For those who have hyper-sensitivity to light and sound: How do you cope when you find yourself starting to get overwhelmed, but can’t leave immediately? How do you recognize when you’re starting to hit that point of sensory overload? How do you deal with the aftereffects of the overload – and what aftereffects do you notice? How long can it take to deal with the aftereffects? more details here
What texture sensitivities do you have? What specific textures are bad? How does your body react to them? more details here
Bras. Do you also find them very stressful to wear? If so, have you come up with a solution to that?
Shoes. Do you have difficulty finding comfortable shoes? What is your preferred choice of footwear?
Does anyone else find showers almost physically painful?
About sensory issues, how did you react to a overload and did you know at first why you reacted this way? Or was it simply a reaction without really know why you were annoyed/angry/overreacting?
How many of us here find earplugs and Mp3 player to be important when going out? Does the stress level go up when you can’t have it on when being stuck in crowed or noisy places?
What kind of job would be right for your own ‘brand’ of autism?
If you work, how do you cope with your errors in understanding they way that most humans think and behave, not just non-verbal language, but office politics and similar inexplicable behaviours?
I get very anxious about interviews – what strategies do you have to cope with these?
How do you deal with being bullied at work? (or anywhere else)
Have you ever asked for accommodations at work or school? How did it go?
Thank you for all of the thoughtful questions! There are a total of 49–obviously too many to answer in one week. I’ve divided them up by subject, because, you know, autistic and need to categorize everything. I’ll spread the survey out over the next four weeks.
The vote on where to answer was a virtual tie so we’ll do it both ways. You can answer here in the comments or you can answer anonymously at Survey Monkey.
If you answer at Survey Monkey, just fill out the questions that apply/appeal to you and leave the rest blank. I’ll bring the Survey Monkey answers over here and paste them into comments so that everyone can read them.
If you answer here, it might be helpful to number your answers according to the question numbers. So if you’re answering questions 3, 5, 7 and 8, your answers would be numbered 3, 5, 7 and 8. That way we can easily scan down the comments looking for answers to the questions that interest us most.
A few questions were on the long side so I tried to include the essential information here and then added a link back to the original comment for more details.
This week’s topic is . . . relationships–friends, family, significant others, etc. Next week will be work/school and sensory sensitivities. Week three will be general coping strategies and acceptance. Finally, week four will be special skills and fun stuff.
ETA: Although a couple of questions reference diagnosis, this is open to all those who identify as on the spectrum (professionally diagnosed, self-diagnosed and suspected aspies/autistics/people with autism).
Does anyone find that you really long for close friendships?
Does anyone obsess over someone you’ve just met? ( almost like they become your ‘special interest’ )
Is anyone part of an Aspie married couple or long-term partnership?
What stuff have you learned about interacting with other people that you think is important to know but was not obvious to you at first?
How do you cope with parents who care, and are taking care of you (or at least helping you work on taking care of yourself), but don’t *understand* you? Don’t have the conception of how hard it can be to do things, like work on not taking naps when you end up exhausted, or deal with financial stuff, or do job searching, or talk on the telephone? more details here
How has your partner (if you have one) reacted to your late diagnosis and do they now see you as ‘disabled?’
Do you have autistic friends and if so, is it easier to hang with them rather than neurotypical folk?
What about the times that you don’t feel like having physical interactions with anyone? You don’t want hugs, kisses, or even simple touches. I am usually overwhelmed with sensory stuff at that point (auditory, visual, touch, taste, the whole mess) and I have trouble articulating it. Should I wait until I’m not in a crisis and try to describe these things to others in a way they might understand better? more details here
Has anyone been disowned by their family at diagnosis?
In a comment on last Tuesday’s post, Lori from A Quiet Week in the House had a great suggestion: “A thought for your Tuesdays–could you poll your readers? I love reading about other’s perceptions, strengths, and areas of concern. It might be a good way to help others discover coping skills.”
So what do you think, readers? Shall we have a poll?
Wait, before you answer that, let me share something with you that I’ve been wanting to say for a while now. For me, one of the most enjoyable things about blogging is reading your comments. I don’t just mean the “this is great” aspect of the comments, though of course that feels good. More than that, I enjoy when you share your experiences.
I’m just one person. Though I do a lot of research, I write from a very personal perspective. When you read what I’ve written and then share how something affects you, it’s incredibly valuable, not just to me but to everyone else who comes along and reads the post and the comments.
And lots of people do read the comments. What we’re doing here–and I really do mean we as a group–is creating a rich, detailed account of what it means to be an autistic adult. We’re learning from each other and we’re creating something for the hundreds of silent readers who find this blog looking for information on some subject or other.
The Poll
So, the poll. Do you have a question you’ve always wanted to ask other autistic people? It could be something practical like, “how do you cope with _______.” It could be something you’ve noticed in yourself and wonder if others experience. Maybe you’re curious about favorite special interests or stims or stim toys. Maybe you have a tough thing you’re facing in life and want to know if others have dealt with it in the past.
Here’s what we’ll do:
1. Leave a comment on this post with your question(s). You can post more than one question and I’ll try to include everything, but I don’t want the survey to be too ginormous for us to answer.
2. I’ll collect the questions into survey format.
3. I’ll post the survey next Tuesday and we’ll answer then. I want this to be fun and not a lot of work, so let’s plan to answer as many or as few questions as we want. No pressure.
There are two ways I can set up the survey:
Let me know which option you prefer. Majority rules.
Anything I’m missing? Mostly, I want this to be fun and informative and not like homework for you.
ETA: Don’t be shy about adding more questions. If there end up being a lot, I can split them up over two or more weeks to keep things manageable.
This week I took the Famous Faces, which tests for prosopagnosia or faceblindness.
Prosopagnosia, commonly known as faceblindness or facial agnosia, is an impairment in the ability to recognize faces. Although there isn’t a lot of research to support a conclusive link between ASD and prosopagnosia, some degree of faceblindness seems to be common in people with Asperger’s.
Some of the signs of prosopagnosia:
I have all of these except the last one. If my daughter changes her hairstyle or I haven’t seen her in a while, I won’t recognize her right away. I locate my husband in a crowded place by the way he walks, what he’s wearing or his voice.
I rarely recognize people out of context and have actually said to more than one person, “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you out of context.” And that was before I knew anything about faceblindness.
For now, I’ll leave the background on faceblindness short because in researching this test, I found enough information for at least one more post.
I’ve seen three different types of tests that “measure” prosopagnosia. One is a famous faces test which removes hair and other identifying features from the faces of famous people, requiring you to identity them by facial features alone.
Another type of test shows a series of faces and asks you to identify which of them belong to a set of 20 faces viewed at the start of the test. I took one online (sadly it’s no longer available) and came out in the bottom 20% of scores. My poor working memory probably didn’t help.
Finally, there is a type of test that digitally alters a face and asks you identify what is “wrong” with the face or which face among three (1 altered and 2 not) is different. This measures your ability to recognize “normal” vs. “abnormal” facial structure, a task that is easier for people who aren’t faceblind.
For example, can you tell at a glance what is wrong with two of the three faces below (answer in the caption):
All of these tests obviously have flaws. A better test might be a series of questions based on the list of prosopagnosia traits, but that doesn’t seem to exist. There is a visual test that is supposed to be accurate at diagnosing prosopagnosia but it’s more time-consuming–we can take that one if folks are interested.
You can take the Famous Faces test at Test My Brain. Choose it from the list of available tests, agree to the terms and answer the short demographic survey. There are 20 celebrities to identify–it took me about 10 minutes to finish but some of the faces I needed to study for a while, trying to picture them with varying hairstyles, before I could come up with a guess.
I did well, but my results may have been influenced by the fact that I’ve taken this test before.
The first time I took Famous Faces, I thought George Clooney was Sean Connery and I mistook Nicole Kidman for Rosie O’Donnell. This time around I got George Clooney right but still missed Nicole Kidman. I also got Angelina Jolie, David Beckham, Fred Astaire, John F Kennedy Jr, Uma Thurman and Susan Sarandon wrong. If the photos had included hair I probably would have missed Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman (because most blonde white actresses look alike to me) and David Beckham (unless his tattooed torso was included!).
The reliability of using famous faces tests to actually diagnose prosopagnosia is poor, but a low score may be indicative of some degree of faceblindness. If there’s enough interest, I’ll hunt down and do a write up on a more reliable test that’s used for clinical diagnosis of prosopagnosia.
This week for Take a Test Tuesday I took the revised Systemising Quotient (SQ-R) test.
Systemizing refers to the drive to understand, construct, predict and/or control the rules of a system. Simon Baron-Cohen, in his desire to wedge autistics into his extreme male brain theory, contrasts systemizing with empathizing as the two primary ways in which humans make sense of their worlds.
The basic premise of the extreme male brain theory is that neurotypical males are better at systemizing and neurotypical females are better at empathizing. Hence, brains can be classified as either male or female according to these aptitudes. Autistic males and females are both better at systemizing, therefore, autistic people have “male brains” and autism is a condition of extreme male neurology.
Using that logic you could also make the case that female basketball players have “male bodies” (i.e. male bodies are on average taller than female bodies, female basketball players have taller bodies on average than females in general, therefore, female basketball players have “male bodies”).
Setting aside the extreme male brain theory, what can we learn from the SQ? The SQ is the subject of several research papers and each time the data show people with ASD generally scoring lower on the EQ and higher on the SQ.
The SQ attempts to measure systemizing in daily life, asking questions about how organized you are when it comes to your financial records, collections or favorite books/music. While the creators tried to avoid introducing bias in terms of subject matter, the test is still vulnerable to this. For example, I want to know the specs of new computer because that’s a topic I’m fairly familiar with.
I’m less interested in the specs of my car’s engine because that’s a subject I know (and care) little about. The same goes for knowing the species of animals and trees or the make-up of committees and governments. Those aren’t subjects I find highly interesting so regardless of how much of a systemizer I am, I’m only going to have a passing curiosity about them
Much of this still relies on personal interests, though perhaps it balances out in the end. The questions about how I bag my groceries and what my closet looks like made me laugh. I bag groceries by type because that makes them easier to put away at home. I hang my clothes in the closet by type so I can find what I’m looking for quickly.
My theory about systemizing? It all comes down to the fact that when you’re autistic, systemizing isn’t simply a preferred way of thinking, it’s a survival mechanism. Without systems and routines, we’d be constantly getting lost in the details.
One final note before we take the test. A lot has been written about gender bias in the EQ and SQ. It struck me as very telling that when the SQ was revised to remove some of the questions that were in “traditionally male domains” and add more questions that might be relevant to females, they removed questions related to investing, religion and culture and added questions related to shopping, cleaning, music and clothing.
You can take the SQ-R (2005 revised version of the SQ) at the Aspie Tests site. Click on The Systemising Quotient (SQ) link and follow the prompts to get to the test page. I’m assuming you know the drill by now. There are 75 questions and you’re required to choose among strongly agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree and strongly disagree. Positive “strongly” answers score two points and “slightly” answers score one point. Possible scores range from 0 to 150.
It took me a little over 10 minutes to complete.
I scored an 85. Not surprising. I’m super organized, have a good memory for details and am insatiably curious about how things work.
I don’t think the SQ is binary in the way that EQ is. For example, on the EQ a positive answer to “I get emotionally involved with a friend’s problems” suggests empathizing. A negative answer suggests remaining detached or perhaps taking a logical problem-solving approach to the friend’s problems. This could be roughly construed as systemizing if we continue to look at it in a strictly binary way.
On the SQ, a negative answer to “I do not follow any particular system when I’m cleaning at home” suggests that one prefers using a system for housecleaning. But what does the opposite answer suggest? Certainly not anything to do with empathizing.
However, the EQ-SQ model sets the two tests up as “complementary” and goes so far as to demonstrate that a composite of EQ-SQ scores is steady across all groups (i.e. my EQ+SQ will be relatively equal to yours and everyone else’s, across all neurotypes). That suggests a strong negative correlation between the two tests.
When you look at the relationship between the AQ, EQ and SQ, it becomes evident that both the EQ and SQ act as a sort of proxy for AQ scores. In other words, they aren’t tests of empathizing and systemizing so much as they’re tests of the traits of autism. Of course autistic people will score higher than average on a test that asks a lot of questions closely related to core autistic traits and lower than average on a test that asks a lot of questions about social skills.
For reference, here are the mean scores from the 2005 SQ-R study:
ASD Male 77.8
ASD Female 76.4
ASD Total 77.2
Typical Male 61.2
Typical Female 51.7
Typical Total 55.6
(I prefer looking at the means from the original studies because the means provided by the Aspie Test site are based on self-reported neurological status, which may not be accurate.)
The SQ is an interesting measure of how dependent an individual is on routine, systems and categorization, but the use of the SQ as “proof” of the extreme male brain theory is highly suspect.
Musings of an Aspie 