What is the developmental screening code for reimbursement for physicians?
The code for developmental screening is 96110. For more information, please refer to this coding fact sheet for primary care pediatricians .
If we screen a child at 6 months of age, when should we screen the child again? How many times should a child be screened within a year?
Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) is a flexible system that allows programs to choose the frequency of screening based on what works best with the program’s goals and capabilities. The developers do recommend that programs screen on a regular basis, rather than just once, to detect delays that may develop as childre…
If a child was born at a gestational age of 34 weeks and 5 days, how many weeks premature is the child?
The ASQ developers used 39 weeks as a full-term pregnancy in their research and data analyses. In your example, the child's gestational age is rounded up to 35 weeks. 35 weeks is subtracted from 39 weeks (a full-term pregnancy) so the child is 4 weeks premature. However, if your program uses 40 weeks as a full-term …
What do I need to order to use ASQ-3?
To start implementing ASQ-3 in your program, you should purchase a Starter Kit, available in English or Spanish. The Starter Kit contains a User's Guide, the Questionnaires (paper masters and CD-ROM with printable PDFs), and a Quick Start Guide. Additional helpful products include ASQ-3 Scoring & Referral training DV…
Do you have tips for administering questionnaires when a parent has a known mental illness such as bipolar, schizophrenia, or active chemical use?
The ASQ developers recommend having both the parent and another adult providing care for the child separately complete ASQ questionnaires. Parents with mental illness may be able to observe their child and provide valid and reliable information despite their symptoms. If the parent is an involved parent, it would be …
How soon should a 4-year-old child be rescreened if the initial screening at the beginning of the school year showed a concern?
The ASQ is a flexible system and it allows programs to choose the frequency of screening based on what works best with your program’s goals and capabilities. In general, the developers recommend rescreening a child who scored in the monitoring zone (gray area) in 2-3 months. This allows the child to practice skills, …
When calculating a child's age to choose the correct age interval, does the date administered count as a complete day in the calculation?
Yes, the administration date is counted as a full day when calculating age. But, the child's birth date is not counted. For example, if a child is born 5/20/2018, then on 5/20/2019 the child's age is 1 year, 0 days. For easy age calculation, use the online ASQ Calculator or download the free ASQ Calculator app from…
Our pediatric medical clinic would like to implement ASQ-3 at the 9, 18, & 30 month visits. However, we are a very busy practice and have little resources to provide support for completion by parents. What steps do you recommend for achieving the highest completion rates?
Most pediatric practices are very busy so it’s important to realize that screening doesn't have to be overly time consuming. Simple strategies can be incorporated into office visits to support completion. Some pediatric practices choose to have caregivers complete ASQ-3 questionnaires online at home prior to schedule…
How does the PEDS compare to the ASQ-3 in regards to expressive Language?
Each ASQ-3 interval has 6 questions in the communication area. These questions measure expressive and receptive skills. Most age intervals have 3 questions about expressive language. For example, “Does your child make sentences that are three or four words long?” and “When your baby wants something, does she tell you…
Most parents don’t see their child interact with peers because they do this at preschool or child care. How will their answers to these questions be valid?
Most parents see their children interact with peers—during playdates, at birthday parties, at social events, in the neighborhood, in the community, on sports teams, and so forth. For children who have been in a preschool or child care environment, parents typically have seen and heard about their children’s social in…
