Autism tests › SRS-2
The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)
Most screens ask yes/no. The SRS-2 instead measures how much — rating autism-related social traits on a continuous scale. That makes it useful both for screening and for describing a child's profile over time.
| Type | Dimensional rating scale — used for screening, evaluation support, and tracking change |
|---|---|
| Age range | 2.5 years to adulthood (Preschool, School-Age, and Adult forms — including a self-report form) |
| Format | 65 items rated on a 4-point scale by a parent, teacher, or the person themselves; 15–20 minutes |
| Who administers | Scored and interpreted by clinicians/psychologists (published instrument, WPS) |
| Output | A T-score comparing the person to age norms, plus subscales (social awareness, cognition, communication, motivation, and restricted/repetitive behavior) |
How to read a T-score
T-scores are standardized: 50 is the population average. As a rough interpretive convention, scores below 60 are in the typical range, 60–65 mild, 66–75 moderate, and 76+ severe elevations of autism-related traits. Two things follow from the design:
- It's a description, not a verdict. An elevated T-score says "this person shows notably more autism-related social traits than peers, as seen by this rater" — it does not by itself diagnose autism, and other conditions (anxiety, ADHD, language disorders) can elevate scores too.
- Rater perspective matters. Parent and teacher scores often differ — a child who masks at school may score high at home and unremarkable at school. Good evaluators collect both and treat the difference as information, not noise.
Where it's used
You'll meet the SRS-2 as part of comprehensive evaluations (alongside the ADOS-2 and ADI-R), in school evaluations, in research — and sometimes repeated over years to describe how a child's profile develops with support.
If you're handed an SRS-2 report: ask the evaluator to walk you through the subscales, not just the total. "High social motivation but high social communication difficulty" and the reverse are very different children needing very different support.
Medical disclaimer: Educational information only. The SRS-2 is a published instrument of its authors (Constantino & Gruber) and publisher. This page cannot diagnose anyone; consult a qualified clinician.