The Allegany County  Early Childhood Development and Education Coalition is proud to be a member of Help Me Grow Western New York. 

Help Me Grow helps children aged birth through 5 reach their full potential by:

Providing families with information on child development and parenting, fun activities to help their children thrive, and personalized connections to local services,

Helping families and caregivers track young children’s ongoing progress in building physical, social, behavioral, communications, and thinking skills. By completing an on-line, confidential screening called the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, families can monitor their child's development and seek help if they have concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions: Ages and Stages Questionnaires

What are developmental screenings?
Screening is a quick check of your child’s development. It’s happening in a wide variety of early childhood settings these days—from doctors’ offices to preschools to child care programs. Screening takes a snapshot of your child’s current skills and helps accurately identify children who may be at risk for delays.

Why is it important for my child to be screened?
Regular screening provides a fast and helpful look at how your child is doing in important areas like communication, social skills, motor skills, and problem-solving skills. Screening can identify your child’s strengths, uncover new milestones to celebrate, and reveal any areas where your child may need support. It helps you understand your child’s development and know what to look for next. And it helps you work with doctors and educators to plan next steps when it makes the most difference—your child’s critical first years of life.

Can a questionnaire really capture my child’s true skills and developmental progress?
Yes! Studies have shown that parent-completed screeners like ASQ® are very effective at pinpointing child progress. Information parents give about their children is usually highly accurate. Plus a parent-report tool like ASQ calls for your unique perspective on how your child behaves and performs skills in natural settings like your home. That means it can capture the big picture of your child’s development better than a screening that takes place in an unfamiliar setting.

Why would I want to fill out a questionnaire that highlights what my child can’t do?
The great thing about ASQ is that it’s strengths-focused—the emphasis is really on what your child can do. It’s the perfect way to keep track of milestones and celebrate them as your child grows and develops.

What if my child has a diagnosed disability? Will I still be asked to fill out an ASQ questionnaire?
As ASQ co-developer Jane Squires says: “The main point of screening is to catch children who may be at risk for disabilities…If children are already diagnosed with a disability, screening is redundant.” So ideally, you won’t be asked to fill out a questionnaire if your child has been diagnosed already. However, if your state’s regulations require universal screening for all kids, talk to your healthcare or educational professional—they may need to seek clarification from the administrative office regarding the screening of children with disabilities. You may choose to fill out selected portions of the questionnaire that apply to your child, or you can decline consent for participating in screening.

Can my child’s teacher also fill out an ASQ questionnaire?
Yes, teachers or other providers who spend 15–20 hours per week with a child may also complete ASQ questionnaires. Since teachers spend so much time with your child and know them so well, their expertise and insights can be invaluable. After your child’s teacher completes a questionnaire, it’s helpful for them to share results with you and discuss any differences in skills or behaviors seen at school versus at home.

What is ASQ?
The ASQ screeners are sets of valid, reliable, and age-appropriate questionnaires that are filled out by the true expert on your child—you! There are two screeners in the ASQ family: ASQ®-3, which looks at key areas of early development, and ASQ®:SE-2, which focuses on social-emotional development. You’ll only need 10–15 minutes to fill out an ASQ-3 or ASQ:SE-2 questionnaire. It’s that quick and easy!

Tell me more about ASQ-3.
ASQ-3 is a set of simple questionnaires trusted for more than 20 years to check child development. There are 21 ASQ-3 question­naires for use with children from 1 month to 5½ years old (one questionnaire for each age range). Here are the five important areas of development that each questionnaire looks at:

1. Communication: Your child’s language skills, both what your child understands and what he or she can say.
2. Gross Motor: How your child uses their arms and legs and other large muscles for sitting, crawling, walking, running, and other activities.
3. Fine Motor: Your child’s hand and finger movement and coordination.
4. Problem Solving: How your child plays with toys and solves problems.
5. Personal-Social: Your child’s self-help skills and interactions with others.

The “Overall” section asks you open-ended questions about your child’s development and lets you weigh in with any concerns you may have.

Tell me more about ASQ:SE-2.
ASQ:SE-2 is a set of questionnaires with a deep, exclusive focus on social-emotional development. There are 9 ASQ:SE-2 question­naires for use with children from 1 month to 6 years old. Here are the seven important areas of development that each questionnaire looks at:

1. Autonomy: Your child’s ability or willingness to self-initiate or respond without guidance (moving to independence).
2. Compliance: Your child’s ability or willingness to conform to the direction of others and follow rules.
3. Adaptive functioning: Your child’s success or ability to cope with bodily needs (sleeping, eating, toileting, safety).
4. Self-regulation: Your child’s ability or willingness to calm or settle down or adjust to physiological or environmental conditions or stimulation.
5. Affect: Your child’s ability or willingness to demonstrate their own feelings and empathy for others.
6. Interaction: Your child’s ability or willingness to respond to or initiate social responses with parents, other adults, and peers.
7. Social-communication: Your child’s ability or willingness to interact with others by responding to or initiating verbal or nonverbal signals to indicate interests, needs, or feelings.

The “Overall” section asks open-ended questions about your child’s social-emotional development and lets you weigh in with any concerns.

Complete Your Child's ASQ Screening Now.

1. Click on the photo below to access your free ASQ2 and ASQ3 screenings or go to Developmental Screenings. If you do not have access to the internet or prefer to complete the screening over the phone, please contact Robin Fuller at 585-648-6022.
2. Choose your screening preference. You can complete both the ASQ2 and ASQ3 or do only one. 
3. Complete the developmental screening(s). If you are unsure of an answer, observe your child to inform your response. 
4. You will receive a follow-up phone call and/or mailing from your screening coordinator with fun activities to help your child with his/her development, information on services and programs that may benefit your child, and an explanation about your child's results.