RAADS-14 Screen (RAADS-14)

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Overview

The RAADS-14 Screen is a 14-item self-report screen for autism spectrum traits in adults. Eriksson, Andersen, and Bejerot (2013) built it from the 80-item RAADS-R for use in adult psychiatric settings, where the task is to flag people who may need a full autism assessment.

How it is scored

Each statement is scored from 0 to 3 for how long it has been true: 3 true now and when you were young, 2 true only now, 1 true only when you were younger than 16, 0 never true. Item 6 ("I can chat and make small talk with people") is reverse-scored. The total ranges from 0 to 42.

Screening cutoff

A total of 14 or higher is the published cutoff. In the original study that cutoff had a sensitivity of 97%. Specificity was about 46% against ADHD and 64% against other psychiatric disorders, so many people without autism also score at or above 14.

Domains (sums only; the paper does not set separate cutoffs):

  • Mentalizing deficits (items 1, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14): 0 to 21
  • Social anxiety (items 3, 5, 6, 8): 0 to 12
  • Sensory reactivity (items 2, 7, 10): 0 to 9

This is an educational screening tool, not a diagnosis.

Reference

Eriksson, J. M., Andersen, L. M., & Bejerot, S. (2013). RAADS-14 Screen: validity of a screening tool for autism spectrum disorder in an adult psychiatric population. Molecular Autism, 4, 49.

Related articles

Related glossary terms

Autistic Traits, Autism

  • Category

    Autism

  • Audience

    Adult assessment

  • References

    Eriksson, J. M., Andersen, L. M., & Bejerot, S. (2013). RAADS-14 Screen: validity of a screening tool for autism spectrum disorder in an adult psychiatric population. Molecular Autism, 4, 49. https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-4-49. Items and scoring from Tables 2 and 3. Open access (CC BY 2.0).
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