About the ASQ-3 Vietnamese Questionnaires
About the ASQ-3™ Vietnamese Questionnaires
The Ages & Stages Questionnaires® in Vietnamese, Third Edition (ASQ-3™ Vietnamese), was developed to support programs serving diverse families and to promote universal screening. Native speakers from Vietnam (both northern and southern regions) and the U.S. were involved in the translation and adaptation process. Early childhood development specialists, home visitors, and communication specialists helped with translation and adaptation of ASQ-3 items. Translators Trinh Le, M.A., M.S., and NhaTrang Nguyen, M.S. spent countless hours developing and refining initial and subsequent versions of ASQ-3 Vietnamese. Both of these dedicated professionals received Fulbright scholarships to attend graduate school in the U.S. and worked closely with the ASQ authors to translate, adapt, revise, and review versions of ASQ-3 Vietnamese.
An initial translation of the tool was reviewed and revised, fully back-translated, reviewed by the ASQ developers, and revised again. Pilot versions were used to screen children in both the U.S. and Vietnam across a 10-year period. Feedback from both parents and providers informed each version of the translation and will continue to be collected.
ASQ-3 Vietnamese Features
ASQ-3 Vietnamese is a CD-ROM with 21 questionnaires and Information Summary sheets in Vietnamese that parallel the English, Spanish, French, and Arabic versions. Supplemental materials to enhance use with families and aid in program use include:
- What is ASQ-3™?” (Vietnamese) parent handout
- Parent Conference Sheet (Vietnamese)
- Child Monitoring Sheet (Vietnamese)
Content Refinements
Given the differences between Vietnamese and English grammar, language adaptations have been made, notably in the Communication area to reflect Vietnamese grammar. Certain ASQ-3 items were adapted to better reflect the cultural experiences of children in Vietnamese-speaking families. For example, an item in the Personal-Social area that asks if a child can eat with a fork was changed to “Can your child eat with a spoon?” in order to reflect typical parenting practices in Vietnamese families. Also, in the Fine Motor item that asks about stringing small objects, macaroni and pasta shapes were omitted as examples because Vietnamese parents prefer not to use food in play activities.
Normative Data and Cutoffs
ASQ-3 Vietnamese uses the same cutoffs as the English version of ASQ-3. Research projects conducted to study the psychometric properties of ASQ-3 Vietnamese are not comprehensive enough to provide separate normative data on Vietnamese children at this time. Results and cutoffs should be viewed with consideration to language and cultural differences, especially in the Communication and Personal-Social areas. Parents should be referred for further assessment if they have any concerns about their child’s development.