How reliable are the 12 month ASQ checks?

[Hotpot33]

We failed ours dismally today! But DD is doing so much more than my son was at this age and yet he didn't fail his?! Also, he is diagnosed Autistic now.

I suppose it depends on what she's failed it on @Hotpot33

What did the HV say?

I think it also depends on how much she 'failed' by. My understanding is that it's designed so that roughly 1 in every 7 or 8 children would fall in the grey in each category – a great many of whom won't go on to need any special support, but were simply a bit slower than average to work out cruising/banging toys together/babbling (quite possibly because they simply weren't bothered...). However, in some children, it obviously can be an early sign of something more significant.

In the black is more like 1 child in 50, so obviously less common and more likely to lead to further checks, but anecdotally, it doesn't seem to be uncommon for a child to be in the black in a category, and then have a spurt of development in speech or whatever and be in the white when re-checked a couple months later.

We just did ours today. Black in gross motor and white for everything else. Remember you have until 12 months + 30 days to 'pass'.

How does your baby do?

Thanks all, really helpful.

So she was OK for fine motor skills, apparently scored too high for personal emotional (does anyone know how or why they can score too high?!) And scored too low for the other 3.

Saw physio this week about her gross motor skills, they said they've seen loads of delays in lockdown babies. So she is about 2 months delayed but following the right path (whereas my son did a lot of things in the wrong order).

@Hotpot33 Well I've never ever heard that babies can score too highly on the ASQ... very strange. Was that your health visitor who said that?

No, it was this community nursery nurse.

I gave the questionnaire in to the receptionist. Then when she called me into the room she was like "oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. These scores are not good. Not good at all. It's a worry."

Bearing in mind she knows the situation with my son.

So I was like "she's scored well on the personal social one! Which was the one DS always struggled on!"

And she said "yes but that one we don't want her to score high on at this stage, it's not good".

🙄🙄🙄

Then she's even written in my red book. Scored below the cut off for 3. Near to the cut off for one and above the cut off for another (like as though the above the cut off was a bad thing).

I've had a look at the scoring sheet online and it doesn't seem to have an above the cut off area.

So now I'm wondering if she just meant because it's a spiky profile.

Anyway she said she would discuss with my HV (who is also useless) and be in touch whether they do a watch and wait, referral to portage or straight to paeds.

I spoke to her nursery key worker yday (she has been in 3 weeks) and she said she would start working with her on a few areas and then repeat the ASQ in a few weeks once she is settled (she is 12 months in 2 weeks time).

She said she had no concerns about her. But no one ever did about my son. So I'm just not sure 🤷‍♀️

Hi @Hotpot33 you commented on my other other post and I’ve just seen this - if it helps my daughter did fine on this test. Her gross motor was fine although at 13 months (just) she doesn’t walk yet although is cruising confidently and pushes her little pram all
Around the place. I’m more worried about the lack
Of words.

I think that's really unprofessional of the nursery nurse. Even if the results were really dire – and I think that might be an overstatement, considering everything you've said – that's not a professional way to discuss it with the parents!

My understanding is also that a child can't score 'too high' on the standard ASQ – it's not the way it's designed. My daughter has also certainly had the occasional 6 yeses in one section on hers, and the HV just made positive noises and moved on. Is it possible the nurse got confused with the separate ASQ just on social emotional stuff? (www.delnortekids.org/uploads/8/2/8/1/82819108/asqse-2_12_mo_set_b.pdf is the 12 month one). That one a high score indicates concern.

I also thought some level of spikiness at this age was very common, although obviously there are limits – 12 month skills in one category and 4 month skills in another would probably warrant further checks!

Then you also say she's only 11.5 months, so on the young side for the questionnaire, and a huge amount can change in 2-4 weeks at this age – and technically she has 6 weeks before the end of the age bracket. Plus she's recently started nursery, so a fair amount of her effort is probably going on learning about the new place, new people, and new routines, not on learning how to drop toys into buckets/boxes/whatever. The keyworker sounds like she has a sensible approach.

Hopefully it will get you referrals to people who can do a better evaluation in case it is early signs that she might need a bit more support, but I don't think it would be unrealistic to hope that it turns to nothing long term, just a combination of lockdown, on the young side, and perhaps not being in a tearing hurry to walk.

Sorry, that's quite an essay.

You know what. You are absolutely right. Loved your essay thank you. You have scored above the cutoff for an "A". 🤣

Yes, I think one or both of us got mixed up about the personal social v social emotional bits. I was talking about the former and she must have been talking about the latter.

It's funny, because although I scored the questionnaire, so knew that the scores were low, it smacked me in the face when she was all doom and gloom. I think I was secretly hoping that they did a few examinations while I was there to prove me wrong. Which is what they always did with my son.

Anyway, you are right. I've been ringing up since she was 6 weeks and they keep saying "well no wonder you are anxious about her after everything you have been through" (my son was so poorly for the first couple of years and has a genetic condition etc). And they just write me off as being anxious without actually listening to what I'm saying. I'm hopeful that they will refer us through to portage who were the first people to notice a delay with my son, so I just want them to come and see her and tell me what they think.

We saw a paediatrician in september who tried to brush me off by saying "she might not be crawling yet, but can she get from one side of the room to another?" And I said "well, no she can't, this is my point" and he said " "but is she sitting? That's all I'm interested in at this age"

🙄🙄🙄

Fed up of these useless professionals.

You are right about her key worker too, she was brill. She was like let's give her a few weeks to settle. I know nothing about your family or your son's situation. I can look at her with fresh eyes and see what I think.

Plus, since she has started, she has been pulling to standing, much more confident with her crawling, pointing (albeit randomly and at everything and anything so I think she is trying to work out what it's about 🤣).

It's such a delicate situation because we nearly missed my son's diagnosis because we put so much early intervention in so we had to teach him how to pull to stand, roll, crawl, point, play peekaboo etc.

I was thinking today. He could play peekaboo at this age as in he could go through the motions of putting a blanket over his head. But he had no enjoyment in it. She doesn't play it herself, but if I do it to her she laughs her head off.

Anyway. Rant over. I'll take your essay and raise you a dissertation....🤣

@Hotpot33 how is your daughter now in terms of milestones?

Who used the word 'failed because that's a terrible word!