About Us
Ages & Stages International Research
Our Team, Our Mission, and Our Goals
Ages & Stages International Research (ASIR) is an LLC created to oversee development and research on the trusted ASQ® screener and its suite of supporting and related products. Our mission is to work closely with Brookes Publishing to guide and sustain ongoing research, training, and dissemination of the whole ASQ product family, including ASQ®, ASQ®:SE, ASQ®: Extended, DALIA, SEAM™, ESQ™, and BASS. We want to ensure that these tools are current, reliable, valid, culturally responsive, and affordable for programs and services interested in screening young children and their environments.
Meet Our Team
Jane Squires, Ph.D., Co-director, Ages & Stages International Research (ASIR); and Co-developer, Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®), Eugene, Oregon
Dr. Squires is a leading authority on developmental screening, implementation of screening systems, early identification of developmental delays, and parents’ involvement in monitoring their young children’s development. She has served as principal investigator on numerous research studies on developmental screening systems, personnel training, and social-emotional development of at-risk infants and toddlers, including the current study on the next edition of Ages & Stages Questionnaires®.
Dr. Squires is lead author of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2009), Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ®:SE-2; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2015), and Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM™), Research Edition (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2014). She has authored or coauthored more than 90 books, chapters, and articles on developmental screening and early childhood disabilities.
In 2017, Dr. Squires received the Mary McEvoy Service to the Field Award, conferred by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC). Dr. Squires is a professor of special education, focusing on the field of early intervention/early childhood special education. She currently teaches doctoral-level courses and conducts research on comprehensive early identification and referral systems for preschool children.
Diane Bricker, Ph.D., Co-director, Ages & Stages International Research (ASIR); and Co-developer, Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®), Eugene, Oregon
During the course of her 50-year career, Dr. Bricker has been a visionary leader in the areas of early intervention service delivery approaches, curricula-based assessment and evaluation, and developmental-behavioral screening. Her early intervention work has been summarized in two volumes: An Activity-Based Approach to Early Intervention, Fourth Edition (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2015), and An Activity-Based Approach to Developing Young Children’s Social Emotional Competence (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2007). Her work in curricula-based assessment and evaluation culminated in the development of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children, Second Edition (AEPS®; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2002), a comprehensive assessment of young children with results that link directly to curricular content and evaluation of child progress. Dr. Bricker is also a primary author of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2009), Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ®:SE-2; Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2015), and Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM™), Research Edition (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2014). She has directed research activities on the ASQ system starting in 1980.
Dr. Bricker served as Director of the Early Intervention Program at the Center on Human Development, University of Oregon, from 1978 to 2004. She was a professor of special education, focusing on the fields of early intervention and social communication. Dr. Bricker’s distinctions include the Division of Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children Service to the Field Award, December 1992, and the Peabody College Distinguished Alumna Award, May 1995.
Kimberly Murphy, Research Coordinator, Ages & Stages International Research (ASIR), and Co-author, Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®), Eugene, Oregon
Ms. Murphy has extensive experience with national research studies involving ASQ® and ASQ®:SE, including data recruitment, collection, and analyses. She was instrumental in the renorming studies of Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ®:SE-2), and Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3) . She is the coordinator for this research website as part of the ongoing study on the next edition of Ages & Stages Questionnaires .
Ms. Murphy also serves as Project Coordinator for the Oregon Screening Project, developing and operating its research website. She works as part of a team providing statewide trainings and developing a universal system of screening and referral for families with young children in the state of Oregon. Ms. Murphy is also extensively involved in the translation of ASQ into other languages. She is currently Research Assistant in the Early Intervention Program at the Center on Human Development at the University of Oregon.
Our Goals
Research shows that early identification of children who may have a delay or a disability produces significant and long-lasting positive effects for children and families. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “universal early childhood screening provides an opportunity to identify delays early and intervene during the most critical period of development.”
The research and recommendations of key early childhood experts inform the two overarching goals of ASIR: promoting global universal screening and supporting comprehensive screening systems.
Universal Screening Around the World. One of our goals is to make ASQ the screener of choice across the globe for accurately identifying children whose developmental repertoires need further, more comprehensive evaluation. ASQ implementation is already widespread in the U.S. and growing around the world, and to expand the screener’s reach, we’re committed to overseeing the development of more high-quality ASQ translations and adaptations. Developing ASQ-4 is another step toward this goal—through a large sample size and extensive research, the new fourth edition will maintain the accuracy and reliability needed for effective universal screening.
Comprehensive Screening Systems. A screening measure that’s used without a strong connection to community agencies and activities falls short of achieving its potential impact. Therefore, another major goal of ASIR is to help ensure that ASQ is embedded within comprehensive, linked, community-wide systems. These systems should feature:
- Coordinated efforts to reach and recruit families to screen all children in the community (known in the U.S. as “Child Find”)
- Ease of access to screening for all children and families
- Coordinated feedback for all families
- Referral and follow-up for all identified children
Our goal is to promote the nationwide—and worldwide—expansion of these coordinated, connected screening systems. We’ve published the book Developmental Screening in Your Community to help support these efforts, and we’ll continue working with ASQ international researchers to set up these systems around the world.
How You Can Help Us
If you’re a parent, fill out the free ASQ-4 questionnaire here. Your completed questionnaire will support our research for the new edition of ASQ!
If you’re an early childhood professional, learn three ways you can have a voice in the development of ASQ-4. Help us ensure that the new edition meets the needs of families in today’s changing world!
Questions?
If you have any questions about our research, contact Jane Squires at jane.squires@gmail.com or Kimberly Murphy at kamurphy.asir@gmail.com.