title: Ages and Stages Questionnaires: feasibility of postal surveys for child follow-up.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), completed by parents and caregivers, has been shown to be an accurate tool for screening children who need further developmental assessment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the feasibility of using the French Canadian translation of the ASQ in an epidemiological cohort of children from the French general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Follow-up study by postal questionnaire at 12 and 36 months, using the ASQ.
  
  
  METHODS
  339 French families recruited at the birth of their child in 2006 in two hospitals in the Paris suburbs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Response rates and French ASQ results at 12 and 36 months. The ASQ was scored as indicated in the manual.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high response rate of 79% was observed at the children's 1st and 3rd birthdays. Parents were enthusiastic about participating; half of them wrote comments on the questionnaires, most of them positive. Low scores at the 12-month assessment were associated with birth characteristics such as prematurity and transfer to the neonatology unit after birth, whereas at 36 months they tended to be associated with both birth and family socio-demographic characteristics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of the French ASQ in a research cohort appears feasible as response rates were high. Moreover, known links between child development measured by ASQ and birth and social characteristics were observed. However, further French studies are needed to understand differences observed in 12-month ASQ gross motor scores compared with US norms. For research purposes, further analysis of the ASQ in innovative, quantitative approaches, is needed.
authors.affiliation: Ined, F-75020 Paris, France. penelope.troude@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Pénélope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Troude
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Squires
authors.forename: Laurence Foix
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: L'Hélias
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bouyer
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de La Rochebrochard
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011177:Postal Service; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires