How ASQ Was Developed

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	ASQ's development is the result of careful and thorough research and response to the need for a cost-effective, highly accurate tool for screening young children. A complete history of the development of ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE appears in each tool's users' guide.

• In the 1970s, researchers at the University of Oregon, led by Dr. Diane Bricker, recognized the need for economical, valid, and culturally sensitive screening tools to identify young children who might be at risk for developmental delays
• A landmark study on parents’ ability to report on their infant’s development (Knobloch, 1979) suggested that parent-completed reports might offer a viable option for low-cost, accurate screening tools
• Researchers including Dr. Bricker and Dr. Jane Squires conducted an extensive review of standardized child development assessments and related literature, and selected a set of skills easily observed or elicited by parents and highly likely to occur in a home setting
• The researchers created a series of questionnaires, each specifically crafted for a different stage of development, that asked parents simple questions about their child’s observable behaviors
• In response to validity and utility data gathered on the questionnaires and feedback from project staff, interventionists, parents, nurses, and pediatricians, the questionnaires were refined and reworded, and additional age intervals added
• In 1995, the questionnaires were first published commercially by Brookes Publishing as the Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ): A Parent-Completed, Child-Monitoring System
• In 1997, with the passage of the amendments to the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA), came a call for early detection of social or emotional problems in young children
• In 1999, a revised and expanded edition of ASQ was published based on continuing research and user feedback
• Data collection on the 3rd edition, ASQ-3, began in 2002.
• Approximately 18,000 ASQ-3 questionnaires were collected on children from all 50 states and several U.S. territories. The ASQ-3 developers incorporated changes based on extensive new research and user feedback-new 2- and 9-month questionnaires, revised cutoff points, expanded administration windows, and more.
• In 2009, Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3) was published. Among the many changes, this edition features NEW 2- and 9-month questionnaires, expanded administration windows, NEW standardization with a sample that includes 15,138 children whose parents completed 18,232 questionnaires, revised cutoff scores, NEW monitoring zone, and much more.
• December 2009 also marks the debut of the ASQ online management and questionnaire completion. The online management options—ASQ Pro for single-site programs and ASQ Enterprise for multisite programs, and ASQ Hub for administrative solutions—gives users automated scoring of questionnaires, easy questionnaire selection, customizable letters to parents, and much more. And with online questionnaire completion through ASQ Family Access, programs can set up a secure, customizable web site where parents complete the questionnaires.
• Research on ASQ-3 will continue to ensure ever greater validity, reliability, and utility of the #1 developmental screener.

How ASQ:SE Was Developed

	A highly accurate, easy-to-use social-emotional screener, ASQ:SE is the result of research and testing with a wide range of professionals and diverse families.

• In 1995, responding to increased demand for a tool to screen for social-emotional delays or concerns in young children, the developers of ASQ initiated a companion tool, Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE).
• Items in ASQ:SE were developed using multiple sources, such as standardized social-emotional and developmental assessments, textbooks and other resources in developmental and abnormal psychology, language and communication materials, and education and intervention resources.
• In 1996, validity, reliability, and utility studies on a field-test version ASQ:SE were initiated.
• In 1997, with the passage of the amendments to the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA), came an explicit call for early detection of social or emotional problems in young children, solidifying the need for ASQ:SE.
• During the initial studies, a wide variety of experts in psychology, psychiatry, education, early childhood development, pediatrics, nursing, and mental health reviewed the ASQ:SE items for appropriateness and ease of use.
• Approximately 50 programs across the U.S. also used the test version of ASQ:SE with a diverse population of children and parents.
• In response to the feedback from the initial studies, the developers made changes, such as combining items with overlapping content, adding a new 60-month questionnaire, and filling content gaps to target key concerns.
• Validity, reliability, and utility studies continued between 1996 and 2001 to determine the psychometric properties of the screening instrument.
• A Migrant Head Start program in Oregon translated the final ASQ:SE into Spanish. The translation was used with 153 children whose families were non-English speakers.
• In 2002, the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE): A Parent-Completed, Child-Monitoring System for Social-Emotional Behaviors, was first published commercially by Brookes Publishing.
• December 2009 also marks the debut of the ASQ online management and questionnaire completion. The online management options—ASQ Pro for single-site programs and ASQ Enterprise for multisite programs, and ASQ Hub for administrative solutions—gives users automated scoring of questionnaires, easy questionnaire selection, customizable letters to parents, and much more. And with online questionnaire completion through ASQ Family Access, programs can set up a secure, customizable web site where parents complete the questionnaires.
• Research on ASQ:SE continues to ensure ever greater validity, reliability, and utility of the tool.