I thought it could be fun/interesting to go through an autism test question by question, and see what resonates with people, and how we approach thinking about the questions. So to start, here’s question 1 of the AQ-10.
1. I often notice small sounds when others do not.
- 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 find 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.
This first one is an easy question for me. Nobody else seems to be bothered by TVs hissing to themselves on standby. Nobody else notices that fridge compressor that squeals when you leave the door open. I’m usually first to notice drips, leaks, animals, equipment left running. I used to be bothered by bat calls, and that’s supposedly inaudible to humans.
That’s a Definitely Agree for me.
I used to be bothered by bat calls, and that’s supposedly inaudible to humans.
Some species do partially chirp into the human audible range. But yeah it still requires moderately good hearing.
I’d rather play AQ20. /s
1, definitely agree. Not diagnosed but several self tests encourage investigating further. I hear sounds all the time everywhere, and I’m especially annoyed by low frequency noise such as ventilation or computer fans, sounds my colleagues do not even notice. It steals my focus which is probably more exhausting than the sound itself.
It’s a definitely agree for me. We had to change some smart light bulbs because they omitted a very high pitched sound that nobody but me could hear. Also had to change our dog walk route because in one of the houses on our old route they bought one of those machines to keep animals away and I almost cried when we passed it. Also can hear phones ring in cars passing our house.
I notice small sounds, yes. Sibling likes to talk about the time I heard a faint ‘tk tk tk’ sound and went to find it because it was driving me mad.
It was a spider several feet above my head making a web. The ‘tk tk tk’ was its legs clicking together as it spun.
Definitely Agree. I will often pause the television to better hear or track down the source of a barely audible sound…and feel like I can’t resume normal activities until I identify it. It really annoys my wife who either doesn’t hear it or just isn’t as audibly observant…and then I’m annoyed at my wife for having no concern about the bizarre out of ordinary unidentified sound that she is content to ignore.