Sandra Harper

June 4, 2014
Ages and Stages Questionnaire
ECE 1500

Iverson is a student who I have been observing in the 18-24 month toddler room at North
Hills Child Care Center in Troy. His birthday is December 3
rd
and as of June he will be 18
months old. Iverson has been attending North Hills Child Care Center since the age of 6 months
where he started in the infant room. He has now been in three different rooms as he was recently
moved from the 12-18 month young toddlers turtle room to the duckling room. His mother,
Janelle, is a single parent who works full time as an assistant teacher in another toddler room of
the same daycare he is attending. He lives with his mother, and also two older siblings. His
brother, TJ is 13 years old and seems to be a big influence on Iverson who looks up to him as his
only male figure or roll model. His sister, Destiny, is also a very big part of his life. She is 14
years old and helps care for him frequently. Recently, Iverson had a case of bronchitis that put
him out of class for a few days, but other than that he is a healthy and happy child.
Through the Ages and Stages Questionnaire I have found that Iverson appears to be
developing at a normal scheduled pace. He has scored above the cut off in all the different areas
of screening. He scored highest in the Gross Motor skills section, which was not very surprising
as he is a very active young man. He enjoys climbing, running, jumping, and is very confident
and precise in his movements. The areas of development in which he scared the lowest was
Problem Solving. This, to me, was a little more unexpected as Iverson seems to do well with
solving problems encountered in play. From what I have observed he can be very creative and
resourceful in doing so and enjoys figuring things out for himself. This result could be the result
of either 1.) That he uses problem solving skills at times other than those mentioned specifically
in the questions, or 2.) A bit of uncooperativeness while encouraging him to complete the
outlined tasks.
Another result in a portion of the ASQ that gave me a few small concerns was the fine
motor skills developmental area. I had previous observations about how he was doing with these
skills and had not really noticed, for myself, the few issues related to this section. Although
nothing too worrisome, the screening has shown that he may benefit from a little more help in
building and strengthening skills for this area. This shows that the screening can help point out
things that were previously unnoticed.
Although he scored above average in both, Iverson could benefit from working on the
areas of problem solving and fine motor skills to strengthen those areas of development and help
build on them more. A good way to improve on and help continue the development of his
problem solving and fine motor skills would be to set up small manipulatives to help him not
only figure out how to make them work but also to get his hands working. Moving things like
blocks is always a great start but there are other ways to work and manipulate objects and
materials other than stacking them. A good task to help both areas of development would be to
put small toys in clear jars with lids. Show him that the lids are removed by twisting and loosely
put them back on. Having him working on a twisting movement while also working at solving a
problem (such as how the toy can be removed) is an activity to work both skills,
Puzzles can also be a very good way to problems solve through manipulation. Trying to
put a puzzle together is like solving a problem all in itself. Figuring out where the pieces go and
how to fit them in can be a very good learning experience for a child to expand on their problem
sovling skills. Also, the motions of having to turn the pieces and try to fit them in helps increase
fine motor skill development. A good tool would be a puzzle with pictures on both the pieces and
the corresponding holes to ensure the appropriate expectations for the child. Also using pieces
with large knobs or handles in helpful in maneuvering and turning the pieces around to fit them
in.
Overall I really like the ASQ assessment process. It have proven to be very helpful in
many ways. Firstly, it is a very easy tool to access and use due to its clarity. Nothing about it is
confusing or complicated, you simply read the questions (which are very details and some even
have explanations) and check whether or not the child does, sometimes does, or has never done
the activity listed.
Also a good reason to use the ASQ system is that it is a dependable and universal
assessment for both teachers and parents. It is a positive way to share with parents what the
children may be accomplishing or struggling with at home vs. what they may be accomplishing
or struggling with in a classroom. This aspect of the screening makes it much easier to discuss
the childrens development with parents and find out where areas of concern may be. It helps
remove the bias factor because the answers that are input are used by the program to create a
score. It also has a clearly defined key to tell the person filling out the questionnaire, or the
person reading the results, what exactly the scored mean.
Another reason the Aged and Stages Questionnaire is helpful is because it is a clear way
of knowing where a concerns and accomplishments are. It does not give an overall pass or fail
type of score, rather, it has separate scores in each developmental area. This can help to
determine the concerns (if any) much more clearly and precisely which in turn helps address
them more quickly and correctly. Also, instead of asking questions on the overall proficiency of
a child in a certain skill area, it actually gives examples of activities to use to check what level
they are achieving in a certain skill area. This helps teachers and parents alike to see where the
child may need more help. Overall, this makes it a positive too for planning a curriculum. The
results show a clear view of what the teacher can do to help continue positive learning and
growth by showing where a student may be lacking. This is a huge tool in providing adequate
activities for improving a certain skill. It can be used for showing where one student needs extra
attention, but also an entire class. If the result show the teacher that many students are struggling
in an area, than there can be adjustments in their teaching to ensure children are building all
skills and not just a select few.