A Screening Questionnaire for Asperger Syndrome and Other High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders in School Age Children

by Stephan Ehlers, Christopher Gillberg and Lorna Wing. (1999). Jr.Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 129-141.

“The high-functioning Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) is a 27-item checklist for completion by lay informants when assessing symptoms characteristic of Asperger Syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents with normal intelligence or mental retardation.”

“Findings indicate that the ASSQ is a useful brief screening device for the identification of autism spectrum disorders in clinical settings.” (p.129)

“ ...a pool of items were chosen considered to best reflect behavior characteritic of Asperger Syndrome in children 7 to 16 years of age.”(p.130)

“The final ASSQ comprises 27 items rated on a 3-point scale (0,1 or 2). The range of possible scores is 0-54. Eleven items tap topics regarding social interaction, 6 cover communication problems, and 5 refer to restricted and repetitive behavior. The remaining items embrace motor clumsiness and other associated symptoms (including motor and vocal tics). The questionnaire was designed for completion by lay informants. It needs no prior training before completion, and takes about 10 minutes to fill in.”

“ ... due to the fact that parent and teacher rating scores on measures, such as the ASSQ, are merely quantified opinions. Accordingly, the ASSQ should not be used as a stand-alone diagnostic instrument.”