Description:
This series of 19 parent-completed questionnaires with 30
developmental items in each questionnaire helps screen infants
and young children for developmental delays during their first
5 years. It is completed by parents or caregivers for children
4 to 60 months of age. The questionnaires focus on assessment
of five key developmental areas: communication, gross motor,
fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social. The ASQ
also includes a section where parents can record general concerns/issues
that are not captured in the questionnaire.
Uses of Information: The ASQ
provides comprehensive initial screening for developmental
delays, monitoring and identification of areas needing further
assessment, and parent education and involvement. It can also
be used to monitor at-risk children.
Reliability: (1) Internal consistency
reliability (Cronbach’s alpha): Communication (.63 to
.75); Gross Motor (.53 to .87); Fine Motor (.49 to .79); Problem
Solving (.52 to .75); Personal-Social (.52 to .68). (2) Test-retest
reliability: percent agreement between administrations was
94 percent. (3) Inter-rater reliability: percent agreement
between observers was 94 percent.
Validity: (1) Concurrent validity:
percent agreement between the ASQ and other measures (the
Revised Gesell and Armatruda Developmental and Neurological
Examination and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development) was
84 percent overall and ranged from 76 percent for the 4-month
questionnaire to 91 percent for the 36-month questionnaire.
(2) Predictive validity: not described.
Method of Scoring: For each
item in the ASQ, the parent responds with “yes,”
“sometimes,” or “not yet.” These items
are then converted to point values and summed. The scorer
can then compare the summed total score to established screening
cutoff points. Scoring can be done by trained program staff
either in their offices or on site during a home visit to
give parents immediate feedback). If necessary, parents can
also score the questionnaires themselves, using the Information
Summary Sheet.
Interpretability: Professionals
or paraprofes-sionals are required to provide feedback to
parents who have completed the questionnaire. There is an
Information Summary Sheet intended to assist program staff
(or parents) with scoring and provide them with a summary
of the child’s performance on the questionnaire. The
Information Summary Sheets can be kept by program staff as
a record of the child’s performance on the ASQ so that
the actual questionnaires can be returned to the parents for
reference.
Training Support: The Users’
Guide contains complete instructions for each of the phases
of the questionnaire. Other support materials include guidelines
for choosing referral criteria, activities sheets that correspond
to the ASQ age intervals. Training on the ASQ is also provided
through the Michigan Public Health Institute. A videotape
is available that provides guidance on using the ASQ system
in a home visiting context.
Adaptations/Special Instructions for
Individuals with Disabilities: None described.
Report Preparation Support:
Not described.
References:
Bricker, Diane, J. Squires, R. Kaminski, and L. Mounts. “The
Validity, Reliability, and Cost of a Parent-Completed Questionnaire
System to Evaluate At-Risk Infants.” Journal of
Pediatric Psychology, vol. 13, no.5, 1988, pp.5-68.
Squires, Jane, D. Bricker, and L. Potter. Ages &
Stages Questionnaires (ASQ): A Parent-Completed, Child-Monitoring
System. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.,
1999 |
