An essential part of my research is to look at what is already available in the digital autism screening space to compare and contrast these with my own ideas. By looking at potential competitors, I can get a good view into what is currently available, how good it is and where there are potential improvements I can bring into my design. I will also look at indirect competitors, which will be useful to discover good design for neurodivergent people and encourage me to think beyond the obvious while shaping my own solution.
There are many websites and a smartphone app that offer quick autism screening; most of these are supplied by providers of private autism assessments. Therefore, these must be viewed from the perspective that they will want people to avail themselves of their paid-for assessments. Most, however, do use recognised, academically verified autism questionnaires, adding some clinical rigour to the results.
Clinical Partners are a private healthcare company providing assessment and support for a wide range of neurodivergent and mental health conditions, including autism. They support both adults and children and can provide care for the NHS. As part of their adult autism service, they offer a 30-question screening test directly on their website with immediate results provided to the user.
This test is certainly quick and easy to complete, and the results are instant. However, the results themselves don’t provide much information, just that you should or should not consider further assessment. They prominently place the option for their private assessment on the results page, suggesting this is the primary aim of the screening test. You also need to scroll to the bottom of the page above for information on the validity of the screening questionnaire used and a link to further information.
In terms of design, the questionnaire itself is simple and easy to use, and the inclusion of a progress bar to show a user how many questions there are and their progress is useful. I do feel, however, the results page would benefit from more detailed information on the results, including the name of the questionnaire used and the actual numerical score, which could be used to gain further information.
Overall, while this is easy to use and has a nice, visual design, it could be significantly more useful if it included additional information and links for people after they had completed the test.
Diverse Diagnostics, like Clinical Partners are a private healthcare company offering similar services of assessment of a range of conditions. They also use the Autism Spectrum Quotient for their initial screening test, although the design of the questionnaire is significantly different.
The most noticeable difference is that for this questionnaire, you are presented with multiple questions on one page, rather than one per page. When I initially used this, I expected that once I completed the questions, I could see that the questionnaire would be complete. However, clicking next brings you to another page of questions, and this happens 4 times. Without question numbers or a progress bar, you have no idea where you are in the questionnaire or when you will complete it, which is frustrating. I would be interested to see drop-off rates for this questionnaire.
You are also unable to see your results immediately; you must enter an email address, which could then be used for marketing purposes. Although it does give you a chance to consent to the storage and processing of your data, which you may not have considered.
I find the visual design of this website quite poor, with the pink/purple boxes around the questions and input box too strong, especially when you consider that people with neurodiversity in general prefer more calming and relaxed colours.
It is easier to understand what questionnaire is being used in this case, and there is more information on why it is a useful tool for initial autism screening. There are also fewer overt references to any private screening that diverse diagnostics can provide.