Online Autism screening

For many people, the journey toward understanding their neurology begins not in a clinician's office but on a screen — late at night, after reading a post that resonated, or during a quiet moment when the question that has been quietly forming for years finally crystallizes: could I be autistic?

Online autism screening provides an accessible, private, and evidence-based first step for anyone exploring that question. While no online tool can replace a comprehensive clinical evaluation, a validated screening can help you understand whether your experiences align with autistic patterns — and whether further exploration is warranted.

Our screening tools are based on instruments developed and validated by leading autism research centers, including the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. They are completely free, require no account, and process all of your answers locally in your browser for total privacy.

Why screen online?

The traditional path to an autism assessment — getting a referral from a GP, waiting months or years for an appointment, then undergoing hours of clinical evaluation — is not accessible to everyone. Online screening addresses several critical barriers.

Comfort and sensory safety

Clinical offices can be sensorially overwhelming for the very people seeking evaluation — fluorescent lighting, unfamiliar environments, the social demands of interacting with a stranger. Screening from the comfort of your own home, in a sensory environment you control, allows you to reflect on questions without the added cognitive load of managing an unfamiliar environment.

Privacy and emotional safety

For many people, particularly those who have spent years masking their traits, the idea of being evaluated by another person can feel deeply vulnerable. Online screening provides a private space to explore your experiences without judgment, time pressure, or the need to perform for an observer.

Accessibility

Formal autism assessment can cost between $2,000 and $5,000 in the United States without insurance, and public healthcare waiting lists can stretch from months to years. Online screening removes the financial barrier entirely while providing a meaningful data point for self-understanding and, if desired, preparation for a clinical evaluation.

A starting point for conversation

If you are considering seeking a formal evaluation, a completed screening provides a concrete starting point for the conversation with a clinician. Rather than trying to articulate vague feelings of "difference," you can point to specific patterns identified by a validated tool.

What our online screenings assess

We offer four clinically validated screening tools, each designed for different situations and depth levels:

How online screening works

Our screening process is straightforward and designed to be accessible for neurodivergent users:

1. Choose your screening. Select the assessment that best matches your situation — the AQ-10 above is the fastest starting point.
2. Answer honestly. Each question describes a trait or behavior. Rate how strongly you agree or disagree based on your genuine, everyday experience — not how you think you "should" answer or how you behave on your best days.
3. Get instant results. Your score is calculated immediately in your browser. You will see your total score, the clinical threshold, and an interpretation of what your results suggest.
4. Explore next steps. Based on your results, you can take a more comprehensive screening, explore our educational resources, or begin researching formal evaluation options.

Privacy and data security

We built this screening tool with privacy as a foundational principle, not an afterthought. Here is exactly how your data is handled:

• Browser-only processing: All answer scoring and result calculation happens in JavaScript running locally in your browser. Your responses never leave your device.
• No accounts: You do not need to create an account, provide an email address, or log in. Your results appear immediately after completion.
• No tracking of answers: We use basic analytics to understand site traffic, but we do not track, store, or analyze individual quiz responses.
• Ephemeral data: When you close or refresh the page, your quiz data is gone. There is nothing to delete because nothing was saved.

The limits of online screening

Transparency about what online tools can and cannot do is essential. Online screening cannot:

• Diagnose autism or any other condition
• Account for co-occurring conditions that may produce similar symptoms
• Evaluate your developmental history or childhood presentation
• Replace the clinical judgment of a trained professional
• Detect autism in people who are highly skilled at masking (though the RAADS-R is specifically designed to minimize this gap)

What online screening can do is help you recognize patterns in your own experience, provide a validated framework for self-reflection, and give you a concrete starting point for further exploration — whether that means reading, connecting with autistic communities, or pursuing a formal clinical evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions