In plain words
The Ages and Stages Questionnaire, or ASQ, is a set of forms that parents fill out to screen a baby's development. Each form fits a set age range and asks about skills like rolling, babbling, reaching, and playing with others. It is a screen, not a diagnosis. A low score means your provider may want a closer look or a follow-up. It does not mean your child has a problem. Many pediatric offices and public health programs use it at well-baby visits, and programs often use it too. Parents can raise a concern about development at any visit, and can ask for an evaluation at any time.
The deeper version
The ASQ is a parent-completed developmental screen with age-specific forms across communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social domains. The ASQ-3 (Squires and Bricker, 2009) reports sensitivity and specificity for developmental delay that depend on the cutoff and age band. The American Academy of Pediatrics and screening guidance (Lipkin and Macias, 2020) recommends standardized developmental screening at the 9, 18, and 30-month visits, and autism-specific screening at 18 and 24 months. The controversy centers on parent-completed versus clinician-administered tools, and on the false-positive burden of screening for conditions that are uncommon in the population.
Where it comes up
- Pediatrician visits in the first weeksBaby Basics
- Home visiting programs and public health nursesCalifornia: Leave, Money, and Paperwork
What mothers here say about Ages and Stages Questionnaire
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Sources
- Squires J and Bricker D — Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3), Brookes Publishing (2009)
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Promoting Optimal Development: Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders (Johnson and colleagues, 2020)