title: Parental and professional assessment of early child development: the ASQ-3 and the Bayley-III-NL.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) is frequently used for screening developmental delay in problem solving, communication, fine- and gross motor skills and personal-social behavior of infants, toddlers and preschool aged children. The adequacy of the ASQ-3 is evaluated for Dutch children by comparing results of the ASQ-3, completed by parents, to results of a standardized, professionally administered developmental assessment of cognition, fine- and gross motor skills and receptive and expressive communication for infants and toddlers: the Bayley-III-NL.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ASQ-3 and Bayley-III-NL were administered to 1244 children aged 1 to 43months old. Two age cohorts were used: 1) the 2-16month age-versions; and 2) the 18-42month age-versions. Cutoff points for all ASQ-3 age-versions were calculated in three ways. Sensitivity and specificity of the ASQ-3 were evaluated with four methods, using different cutoff point combinations of 1 SD or 2 SD below the mean.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, sensitivity was between 7% and 77% and specificity between 53% and 99%. Sensitivity and specificity values were higher for the older age-cohort than for the younger age-cohort. For the older age-cohort, the best sensitivity (69%) and specificity (92%) was found, using 1 SD for the total ASQ-3 score and 2 SD for the Bayley-III-NL subtests as cutoff points.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For the oldest age-cohort, the ASQ-3 for now has the best potential as a screener for Dutch children. The ASQ-3 identifies most children without a developmental delay according to the Bayley-III-NL, but sensitivity needs improvement.
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: l.j.p.steenis@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Leonie J P
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Steenis
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: J.C.T.Verhoeven@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Marjolein
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verhoeven
authors.affiliation: Methods and statistics, Utrecht University, Padualaan 14, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: D.J.Hessen@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Dave J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hessen
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: A.L.vanbaar@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Anneloes L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: van Baar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development / Q000145:classification*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: ASQ-3; Bayley-III-NL; Infant and toddler development; Screening; Sensitivity; Specificity