
ESSENCE-Q Child
The ESSENCE-Q is a questionnaire designed for clinical and research purposes, with the aim of helping clinicians and researchers to identify children (of all ages, but primarily small children) who may have some kind of ESSENCE disorder.
About the ESSENCE-Q Child
The ESSENCE-Q is a screening questionnaire designed for screening in health/clinical and research settings with the aim of helping child and school health staff/clinicians and researchers to identify children (of all ages, but primarily small children) who may have some kind of ESSENCE condition(s) and who therefore warrant further clinical assessments.
How to score the ESSENCE-Q Child
Tally up the number of YES responses and MAYBE/A LITTLE responses. All children who get one (or more) clear YES or three (or more) MAYBE/A LITTLE should be examined by a child development specialist or screened for further problems by a child care centre nurse.
Psychometric properties
The ESSENCE-Q has been used as a parent questionnaire and by clinicians in several Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Slavic and Spanish studies and has been found to have good psychometric properties.
How the ESSENCE-Q is used
The ESSENCE-Q can be used as a short interview (led by a doctor or a psychologist/nurse in a neurodevelopmental assessment team) or as a questionnaire filled out by parents. It is neither to be used as a diagnostic tool nor as a proxy for diagnosis, but rather as a screening instrument.
2024
- Tanasan A, Eghalian F, Behmanesh H, Khazaei S, Farahani F, Hosseini F. Evaluation of Neurological and Auditory Development in Children with Congenital Heart Disease using Essence Q Questionnaire and Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Test. Iranian Journal of Child Neurology. 2024; 18(1):43-50.
- Kitazoe N, Mimoto S, Fukunaga I, Hamaguchi M, Hatakenaka Y, Gillberg C. The ESSENCE-Q: Can specialist supervision improve scoring agreement across specialist and public health nurses/nursery teachers? Acta Paediatrica. 2024;113(2):267-275.
- Thorsson M, Galazka MA, Johnson M, Åsberg Johnels J, Hadjikhani N. Visuomotor tracking strategies in children: associations with neurodevelopmental symptoms. Experimental Brain Research. 2024; 242(2):337-353.
2023
- Cibralic S, Hawker P, Khan F, Lucien A, Mendoza Diaz A, Woolfenden S, Murphy E, Deering A,
Schnelle C, Townsend S, Eapen V. Developmental screening tools for identification of children with developmental difficulties in high-income countries: a systematic review. Frontiers in Child Adolescent Psychiatry. 2023; 2:1074004. - Johansson M, Hermansson J, Linnsand P, Gillberg C, Nygren G. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, other eating difficulties and compromised growth in 72 children: background and associated factors. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2023; 2.
2022
- Bjelland I, Posserud MB, Wergeland GJ. Dialogue Based Early Detection-Development of a Novel Approach for Detection of Mental Health Problems Among Children in Daycare Centers. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2022; 18;13:696531.
- Cederlund M. Parent Questionnaires in the Evaluation of Pre-School Children Referred for Neuropsychiatric Assessment. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2022; 52(4):1742-1751.
- Dinkler L, Yasumitsu-Lovell K, Eitoku M, Fujieda M, Suganuma N, Hatakenaka Y, Hadjikhani N, Bryant-Waugh R, Råstam M, Gillberg C. Early neurodevelopmental problems and risk for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in 4-7-year-old children: A Japanese birth cohort study. JCPP Advances. 2022; 7;2(3):e12094.
- Hatakenaka Y, Hachiya K, Ikezoe S, Åsberg Johnels J, Gillberg C. How Accurately Does the Information on Motor Development Collected During Health Checkups for Infants Predict the Diagnosis of Neurodevelopmental Disorders? – A Bayesian Network Model-Based Study. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2022; Oct 19;18:2405-2420.
- Kattimani S, Joseph R, Mondal N, Johnson A. Predictive validity of ESSENCE Q screening tool for early detection of neurodevelopmental disorder in children. Asian Journal of Psychiatry. 2022; 73:103162.
- Landgren V, Raanan Soltis Z, Svensson E, Theodosiou M, Landgren M, Knez R. The ESSENCE-Questionnaire in Medical Records Screening for Neurodevelopmental Symptoms/Problems: Utility and Clinical Validity. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2022; 3;18:2559-2574.
- Landgren V, Svensson L, Knez R, Theodosiou M, Gillberg C, Fernell E, Landgren M, Johnson M. The ESSENCE-Questionnaire for Neurodevelopmental Problems – A Swedish School-Based Validation Study in 11-Year-Old Children. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2022; 15;18:2055-2067.
- Lazerwitz MC, Rowe MA, Trimarchi KJ, Garcia RD, Chu R, Steele MC, Parekh S, Wren-Jarvis J, Bourla I, Mark I, Marco EJ, Mukherjee P. Brief Report: Characterization of Sensory Over-Responsivity in a Broad Neurodevelopmental Concern Cohort Using the Sensory Processing Three Dimensions (SP3D) Assessment. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2022; (Epub ahead of print).
2021
- Marinopoulou M, Billstedt E, Lin PI, Hallerbäck M, Bornehag CG. Number of words at age 2.5 years is associated with intellectual functioning at age 7 years in the SELMA study. Acta Paediatrica. 2021; 110(7):2134-2141.
- Nygren G, Linnsand P, Hermansson J, Dinkler L, Johansson M, Gillberg C. Feeding Problems Including Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Multiethnic Population. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 2021; 13;9:780680.
2020
- Hatakenaka Y, Maeda M, Ninomiya H, Hachiya K, Fernell E, Gillberg C. ESSENCE-Q obtained in routine Japanese public child health check-ups may be a valuable tool in neurodevelopmental screening. Acta Paediatrica. 2020; 109(4):764-773.
- Poulsen CD, Wilson P, Graungaard AH, Overbeck G. Dealing with parental concerns: A study of GPs’ practice. Patient Education and Counseling. 2020; Epub ahead of print.
2019
- Millar L, McConnachie A, Minnis H, Wilson P, Thompson L, Anzulewicz A, Sobota K, Rowe P, Gillberg C, Delafield-Butt J. Phase 3 diagnostic evaluation of a smart tablet serious game to identify autism in 760 children 3-5 years old in Sweden and the United Kingdom. BMJ Open. 2019; 9(7):e026226.
- Reilly C, Atkinson P, Memon A, Jones C, Dabydeen L, Helen Cross J, Das KB, Gillberg C, Neville BGR, Scott RC. Autism, ADHD and parent-reported behavioural difficulties in young children with epilepsy. Seizure. 2019; 71:233-239.
2018
- Stevanovic D, Knez R. T The translation and cultural adaptation of the ESSENCE-Q: Experience from south Slavic languages. Medicina fluminensis. 2018; 54,(2):104-107.
- Stevanovic D, Knez R, Zorcec T, Anderluh M, Kodrič J, Petrov P, Hadžagić Ćatibušić F, Deljković A, Brkic Cvetkovic S, Vrljičak Davidovic N, Kuzmanić Šamija R, Đorić A, Gillberg C. ESSENCE-Q: Slavic language versions for developmental screening in young children. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2018; 14:2141-2148.
2017
- Hatakenaka Y, Ninomiya H, Billstedt E, Fernell E, Gillberg C. ESSENCE-Q – used as a screening tool for neurodevelopmental problems in public health checkups for young children in south Japan. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2017; 10;13:1271-1280.
- Mina TH, Lahti M, Drake AJ, Räikkönen K, Minnis H, Denison FC, Norman JE, Reynolds RM. Prenatal exposure to very severe maternal obesity is associated with adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes in children. Psychological Medicine. 2017; 47(2):353-362.
2016
- Hatakenaka Y, Fernell E, Sakaguchi M, Ninomiya H, Fukunaga I, Gillberg C. ESSENCE-Q – a first clinical validation study of a new screening questionnaire for young children with suspected neurodevelopmental problems in south Japan. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2016; 14;12:1739-46.