ASQ Products | ASQ-3 | Comparison Chart

Selecting the screening tool that best suits your program can be daunting. Numerous tools are out there, but how do you know which one is best for you?

A 2008 Pediatrics in Review article on "Selecting Developmental Surveillance and Screening Tools" summarized a review of the research that was designed to help guide practitioners in the selection of valid screening instruments. The review recommended the Ages and Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ) as a parent report measure to screen both for general developmental delay and for developmental delay in at-risk (such as preterm birth or economically disadvantaged) populations.

In the chart below, see why ASQ is the screener of choice for thousands of programs across the country.

Commonly Used Parent-Report Developmental Screening Tools
Instrument	Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3): A Parent-Completed, Child-Monitoring System	Denver Prescreenng Developmental Questionnaire (PDQ II)	Infant Development Inventory (IDI) and the Child Development Review Parent Questionnaires (CDR-PQ)	Parents’ Evaluation of Development Status (PEDS) and PEDS: Developmental Milestones (PEDS:DM)
For use with	Children from 1-66 months	Children from birth to 6 years	Children from birth to 18 months (IDI); and children from 18 months to kindergarten (CDR-PQ)	Children from birth to 8 years
Questionnaire items	ASQ-3 includes 21 age-specific questionnaires, which allow you to accurately screen anytime between 1 and 66 months—whether at the AAP recommended 9-, 18-, and 24- or 30- month well-child visits, or whenever the child enters your program	The PDQ is a 105-item questionnaire regarding a child's current level of development. At each visit the parent is asked to answer 7-10 age-appropriate questions	The IDI includes about 85 developmental milestones divided by month and across 5 domains; the CDR-PQ includes about 100 items divided by month or year and across 5 domains; also includes open-ended questions	PEDS is a single questionnaire containing the same 10 open-ended questions for all ages to elicit and address parents' concerns. PEDS:DM provides 6-8 milestones-type items per well visit
Single stage screener?	Yes. Empirically derived cutoff scores produce results that clearly suggest whether to (a) evaluate further, (b) closely monitor, and/or (c) share information with parents about a child's strengths and recommend activities for healthy development	No. Results of the PDQ showing two or more delays produce a referral for further screening with the professionally administered DENVER II.	Yes. The results are compared to age norms, and classified as "typical" for age in all areas, or as "borderline" or "delayed" in one or more areas of development	Yes, when used in combination. PEDS alone "provides decision-making paths to aid in interpreting parents' responses to questions."
Developmental areas screened	Communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social, plus self-regulation, compliance, language, adaptive behaviors, autonomy, affect, and interaction with people with ASQ:SE	Personal and social, fine motor, gross motor, and language	Social, self-help, gross motor, fine motor, language	Fine motor, gross motor, self-help, expressive language, receptive language, and social-emotional
Sample item	The parents answers Yes, Sometimes, or Not Yet: Does your child stack a small block or toy on top of another one? (18-month questionnaire, fine motor area)	(sample not available)	The parent checks (or doesn't check) Runs well, seldom falls (2-0 years, gross motor area)	The parent circles No, Yes, or A Little and adds comments: Do you have any concerns about how your child talks and makes speech sounds? (expressive language and articulation area)
Time to complete and score	2-3 minutes to score. Once parents complete the questionnaire (10-15 minutes), the professional consults a scoring grid with clearly designated results	2-12 minutes	IDI: 5-10 minutes CDR: 10-20 minutes	2-10 minutes
Standardization	Standardized in an unparalleled national sample of 15,138 children	Drawn from the DENVER II, which was normed on 2096 children in Colorado; diversified in terms of age, place of residence/ ethnicity/cultural background, and maternal education	IDI: Studied in 86 high-risk 8-month olds seen in a perinatal follow-up program and compared with the Bayley scales; CDR: Standardized with 220 children aged 3-4 from primarily white, working class families in south St. Paul, MN	Standardized with 771 children from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, including Spanish speaking
Sensitivity	86%	DENVER II: 68%	IDI: 85% CDR: 88%	74%-79%
Specificity	85%	DENVER II: 88%	IDI: 77% CDR: 88%	70%-80%
Reading Level	4th-6th grade level	unknown	7th-8th grade level	5th grade level
Initial cost	One-time investment for each program: No reordering required! ASQ-3 Starter Kit: $249.95 Includes: ASQ-3 User's Guide, ASQ-3 Quick-Start Guide, and a photocopiable print master set of 21 questionnaires and scoring sheets, as well as a CD-ROM with printable PDF questionnaires	$86 for full series of 4 pads of English forms, $96 for full series of 4 pads of Spanish forms	Health Care Starter Pack: $80 Includes: 25 IDI parent questionnaires, 25 CDR parent questionnaires, CDR Manual, 25 child development charts, 2 wall charts of child development	PEDS:DM plus PEDS: The Best Approach for Pediatric and Public Health Encounters: $305 Includes: PEDS:DM starter kit, 100 PEDS response forms, and the PEDS brief guide
Reordering required?	No.	Yes.	Yes.	Yes.
Ongoing costs	None. All forms may be photocopied or reprinted from the disk by the purchasing organization for no extra charge	$23-$29 per pad of 100. Photocopying is not allowed	$14 per pad of 25 (instructions included). Photocopying is not allowed	$15 per replacement pad of 50 each. Photocopying is not allowed
Languages	English and Spanish (second edition available in French; questionnaires available on their own or in a set with the second edition of the ASQ User's Guide (in English))	English and Spanish	English, Spanish, and Vietnamese	English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
Training options	DVD training: ASQ-3 Scoring and Referral, Ages & Stages Questionnaires on a Home Visit; on site customized seminars offered through Brookes On Location professional development program; annual "train-the-trainer" workshops available; Trainers Toolkit and online training options in development	Instructions for scoring and interpreting the PDQ II are distributed with the questionnaires; DENVER II Training DVD or videotape available for rental or purchase; DENVER II master instructor training sessions held in Denver	Instructions are included in the required Child Development Review Manual	Using PEDS: DM instructional video, PowerPoint slide shows, and additional downloadable training material available on web site
Publisher	Brookes Publishing	Denver Developmental Materials	Behavior Science Systems	Ellsworth and Vandermeer Press
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this chart is accurate, according to the latest information available from the publishers of each of the tools. Please contact the publishers directly with any questions.

[1] Child Development Review. Retrieved November 26, 2008.