Would a 48 on an AQ test be mild or moderate Autism?

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I want to know.

I don't actually think that the number is indicative of whether you've got level 1, 2, or 3. The number more indicates how many traits you have that are typically associated with autism, not how severely autism affects you.

I do know that, if you're level 2, people who look at you will instantly know there is something different about you, without even needing to talk to you. At level 2, there is no "passing" or "faking it", even for short periods of time.

If you've managed to make it to age 14 without being diagnosed, I find it quite unlikely that you are level 2.

Only a qualified diagnostician would be able to determine the "mildness" of a person's autism.

Online tests, like the one you mentioned, are but "screening tools."

With an IQ of 48 you would be described as "low functioning".

A value of 48 doesn't mean much, AFAIK. You'd get the same score whether you answered "slightly agree/disagree" or "very much agree/disagree".

Two people on the spectrum might have very different profiles, Autistic A has nearly all the traits described in the textbook, but none of them particularly severely, whereas Autistic B might have only half the traits of A, but the ones he does have, they're much more severe than in A's case and cause more impairment in everyday life. Yet B would score lower on a screening test.

I was recently diagnosed with ASD level 1 and I got a 43 on the AQ but I think 48 could be mild too. It just depends on how much support you need whereas the AQ measures how many symptoms you have.

^^^The OP said AQ, not IQ. But I'd encourage people to move away from descriptions of autism as mild or severe. Autism affects everyone differently, and someone may be mild in some ways but not mild in others.

You've already been diagnosed as moderate. I believe most of us with more pronounced classic autism score on the high end of Aspie tests. I think my AQ was 47 or 48 when I took it when I was your age. This time it was 45. I doubt it will ever get any lower. But who knows.

However I look at these online tests as just a novelty.

I would think 48 suggests quite severe ASD, but it only suggests it.

50 is the maximum possible score on the AQ test. The general population scores 17 on average, but the test's author thinks that 32 is a better threshold. I guess that's because of the difference between actual autism and autism that is deemed worthy of intervention, and I suppose that's linked to money, in the same way as the law usually saves money by pretending there is no crime below a certain arbitrary level of seriousness.

So, assuming linearity, a score of 48 would indicate 94% "real" ASD or 89% "bureaucratic" ASD, which seems quite high by either measure, but as has already been said, the AQ test isn't diagnostic. In my case I can get practically any score I like on the AQ test, without actually lying, because of its forced-choice format and the demand for black-and-white answers to some very grey, subjective questions. You get the choice between agreeing, agreeing strongly, disagreeing, or disagreeing strongly with each statement, but the score calculation ignores the "strength" factor completely.

A score of 48 would indicate significant autism traits. I score 28, on the borderline, but I do have the salient features of Asperger syndrome, notably intense special interests and social awkwardness.

The AQ really is only a "screening tool."

It doesn't determine a person's "functioning," certainly.

Only personal observation over a period of time would be able to actually determine a person's "functioning."

Somebody could score a 48, and be employed and independent. Another person could score the same 48, and be unable to obtain employment and have anxiety which confines him/her to the home.

I was told by members here that the AQ test is a good way to determine whether you want to proceed with the expensive diagnostic process. It might be a waste— but if your AQ is higher of course that would show you there is validity to your suspicions of autism.

I scored 46 and I took it a couple of times.

This told me that, yes, a diagnosis was worthwhile. I ended up as being diagnosed as Level 1, despite having a high AQ score.

The AQ helps push you to diagnosis I think.

It doesn’t accurately show how ‘severely’ you have it.

Of course severity etc is only what’s visible to outsiders. Only we know how hard it is to cope but that’s another topic.

^^^ Yep. A screening tool.

It assesses whether further investigation is warranted.

It doesn't offer nearly the power of an actual professional diagnosis.

Right it's testing the waters if someone suspects they have autism.