Pediatricians

ASQ: the #1 screening tool trusted by pediatricians

Pediatricians play a critical role in early identification of children at risk for delays or disabilities—but they need the right tools to do this important job accurately and consistently. That’s why screening with a valid, reliable tool like ASQ® is so important.

A recent study shows that ASQ-3 is the developmental screening tool most used by pediatricians—47.5% use ASQ compared with 18.1% who use PEDS.
Lipkin et al., 2020

Pediatric practices trust ASQ because it:

  • Gives an accurate snapshot of a child’s development, with excellent sensitivity and specificity
  • Saves time and supports family engagement with parent-completed questionnaires
  • Offers more comprehensive information about a child’s skills—far more than other screeners that ask a few yes/no questions
  • Supports diverse families with translations in multiple languages
  • Makes scoring and reporting fast and easy with convenient online options
  • Helps practices meet AAP recommendations for screening social-emotional development (ASQ:SE-2)
    and social determinants of health (ESQ)

Integrating ASQ into your pediatric practice

The benefits of ASQ are clear—but how can a busy practice like yours build developmental screening into your workflow? A great place to start is this article of helpful tips for setting up a developmental screening program in a pediatric practice.

The training video below also gives you a realistic feel for how a pediatrics team can successfully use ASQ, from introducing the questionnaires to connecting children with early intervention and other resources:

Answers to your top questions

Have more specific questions about integrating ASQ into your practice? Here are answers to some of the most common ASQ questions pediatricians have.

What are our options for screening electronically with ASQ?

  • ASQ® Online the user-friendly system that offers efficient data management, online questionnaire completion, and powerful reporting abilities.
  • CHADIS®, a web-based screening, diagnosis, and management system that administers and analyzes pre-visit online questionnaires.
  • CheckinAsyst®, a digital patient intake and communication platform by HealthAsyst, which can add relevant ASQ-3 questionnaires to the check-in process considering the child’s age and premature birth conditions.
  • Patient Tools®(PTI), which offers tablet and web-based ASQ questionnaire completion, scoring, and in-depth reporting in real time.
  • Phreesia, a patient intake platform you can use to automatically administer, score, and store ASQ-3 in the electronic medical record for physicians and staff to review.

Sign up for a live ASQ Online demo, and learn more about the alternative electronic options here.

How can my practice integrate ASQ with our EHRs?

Your practice has several options for using ASQ with electronic health records (EHRs):

  • Manually recording ASQ results in the child’s record within your EHR system
  • Linking ASQ Online to your EHR
  • Using ASQ within a pediatric system that integrates with your EHR (like the four ASQ Online alternatives listed in the question above)
  • Licensing the right to build ASQ questionnaire content into your patient portal

Learn more about these options for EHR integration here.

What languages are available for ASQ?

ASQ questionnaires have been translated into many languages to help pediatricians meet the needs of diverse families.

  • ASQ-3 questionnaires are available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
  • ASQ:SE-2 questionnaires are available in Arabic, French, and Spanish.
  • Additional translations are available for purchase or licensing through Brookes Publishing’s Rights, Licensing, & Permissions department.

Learn more about available translations here.

Is ASQ still a valid screener in light of the updated CDC developmental milestones? 

Yes, both ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 are still valid screeners, and no, updates will not be needed to either screener to reflect the milestone changes. That’s because the ASQ questionnaires were developed through an extensive research process that was not tied to or based on the CDC milestones—in fact, the earlier editions of ASQ actually predated the milestones. And for this latest milestone update, ASQ data was even used to inform the changes. Learn more in this blog post, featuring insights from ASQ co-developer Jane Squires.

How do I code developmental screening for medical billing?

The AAP has created a helpful coding fact sheet on developmental screening. It provides clear guidance on how pediatricians can appropriately report the use of standardized developmental screening instruments. You can access and download the PDF of the fact sheet here.

More resources for pediatricians

Explore our free Resource Library for videos, articles, clinical reports, and more! Here are a few highlights:

ASQ Pediatric Toolkit
This toolkit contains tips, information, and resources for implementing ASQ developmental and social-emotional screening in your pediatric practice. (Requires login to the ASQ website to access.)

Promoting Optimal Development (AAP Report)
This clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) models a universal system of developmental surveillance and screening for the early identification of conditions that affect children’s development and achievement.

Five Ways Pediatrics Can Support Social Emotional Development (NICHQ Article)
This article from the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality explains how pediatric health professionals can work with families to support the social-emotional development of young children and set them up for a successful future.

Developmental Surveillance: What, Why and How (AAP video)
In this video from the American Academy of pediatrics, Pediatrician Dr. Shelly Flais discusses developmental surveillance recommendations, tips, and resources available to pediatricians, clinicians, and families.

Identifying Infants and Young Children with Developmental Disorders in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening (AAP policy statement)
In this policy statement, the AAP recommends that pediatricians screen all infants and young children for developmental delays during preventive care visits, present screening results to the family using a culturally sensitive and family-centered approach, and increase parents’ awareness of developmental delays and disabilities and resources for intervention.

Reference
Lipkin, et al., (2020) Trends in Pediatricians’ Developmental Screening: 2002–2016. Pediatrics (2020) 145 (4).
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0851

  • Children Engaged in the Classroom

    What ASQ Users are Saying

    “What I love about the ASQ is that it allows our staff to catch delays quickly and allows us to get our clients the early intervention programs that they sometimes need. In many cases [ASQ] helps us catch children up before they start kindergarten, therefore providing children with the start that they deserve.”

    Sharon Gee, Supervisor, Healthy Families Niagara