I'm actually enjoying reading through the Musings of an Aspie site. So looking through the Take a Test archives, I saw the post about the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Test. And I can never resist a quiz. What's surprising is my score:

40(fear) + 44(avoidance) = 84 You have severe social phobia

Umm, I'm pretty sure I'd have known by now if I had severe social phobia?? I'm looking through my answers and they seem as accurate as they can be. But honestly, I don't think this fits. Having said that, it's taken me 13 years to pluck up the courage to finally book an appointment with the dentist, and even that was nerve-racking. Not because I'm scared of the actual treatment -- ha! Now I'm over 18 they can't do anything to me without my permission -- the scary thing was actually booking the appointment in the first place.

(Edit: I have actually since been diagnosed as Anxiety Disorder NOS, because lazy doctor is lazy. Or rather, stingy. But I definitely don't qualify for Social Anxiety.)

I just did this one as well:

The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised

Okay, this is really strange, because my scores are more Aspie than even the author of Musings of an Aspie. And yet, these days, I don't even feel very Aspie. I actually feel like I'm going native sometimes.

The problem with these tests is that the questions can be interpreted in so many ways. Like, this one:

I would rather go out to eat in a restaurant by myself than with someone I know.

What is it asking? Do I like to socialise while eating or prefer to eat alone? Because the answer would be eat alone. But at the same time, I'm not a restaurant-goer, it's not my thing, so if for some reason I had to go to one, I would definitely want someone I know with me, if only because they understand the protocols of how it all works and I wouldn't have to stand there like the clueless idiot I am trying to work out what I'm supposed to say and do. So I don't really know how to answer this.

It's like the one in the AQ test:

I prefer to do things with others rather than on my own.

It depends entirely on the situation. If I'm doing something unfamiliar and anxiety-inducing, I would love to have someone I trust with me to hold my hand (not literally, though!). But my own projects I prefer to do myself, because I have a very specific way of doing things, and I don't like it when other people mess that up. And I generally gravitate towards solo activities/hobbies in general, with the exception of multiplayer videogames. So how do I answer?

This other question for the AQ test annoys me, too:

I don't particularly enjoy reading fiction

Because I feel it plays into the stereotype of Aspies only care about facts. Fiction is only for NTs. You know why I love fiction and have done since a young age? Because it tells me how NTs behave and speak. It gives me a massive database of scripts (you would be surprised at how many lines from books I have lifted and used in day to day life, it's great. Although once, this backfired on me. Sometimes, lines are so good/clever that I will actively seek out an opportunity to use them, even if it doesn't really make sense in that context. So I'd recently been (re)reading The Secret Garden and there was one line where Mary Lennox says she "has nothing — and no one" and that seemed like such a succinct yet profound line, and I ended up using it as soon as I got the chance, even though it wasn't at all true. I just liked the line. And I can tell you, I didn't hear the end of that one for a LONG time. I remember being mocked and made to feel stupid for a long time after that — by someone who claimed to love me, no less).

Also fiction = escape from reality, because having to change yourself to fit in with NTs is tiring and dispiriting. Plus, if you happen to have a lot of imagination, but lack creativity, as I do, fiction also provides so many ideas for one's own inner worlds. So yes, I feel like this question is trying to fit Aspies into a stereotype that just isn't true! I love both fiction AND non-fiction equally!

Back to the RAADS-R test. This one:

I have been told that I am clumsy or uncoordinated.

Don't know if I've been told, but I do remember very clearly as a child, I knew that I had to make a special effort to concentrate when dealing with anything fragile, because I KNEW that I was clumsy. And the amount of bruises on my legs is testament to the fact that I am still quite clumsy.

And the thing is, if even one person in all my life ever called me clumsy/unco-ordinated, I would have to answer yes to this. See, the wording — it's all wrong. They should have written something like: I feel like/know that I am very clumsy and/or unco-ordinated. Because that would be easier to answer.

I have to "act normal" to please other people and make them like me.

But what if I have to do those things just to survive the day without being insulted/talked about disparagingly? I don't care for being liked and pleasing others. I don't like everyone I meet, and I don't expect them all to like me. I try to fit in only to avoid the stress that comes with not fitting in. So how do I answer this one?

I have the same problem with all these kinds of multiple choice quizzes. Maybe my scores are all over the place, because a good deal of the time, I just don't know how to answer.