Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ)
Child’s Name: Child’s Age: Child’s DoB:
Informant’s Name: Relationship to Child:
Clinician’s Name: Date of Interview:
School/Clinic’s Name:
Instruction: Please answer each question with a YES or NO. Make sure to think about your answers based on your observations from the last
three months.
Is she/he now able to talk using short phrases or sentences? If no, skip to Question 8 Yes No
Do you have a to-and-fro “conversation” with her/him that involves taking turns or building on what you have Yes No
said
Does she/he ever use odd phrases or say the same thing over and over in almost exactly the same way Yes No
(either phrases that she/he hears other people use or ones that she/he makes up)
Does she/he ever use socially inappropriate questions or statements? For example, does she/he regularly Yes No
ask personal questions or make personal comments at awkward times
Does she/he ever get her/his pronouns mixed up (e.g. saying you or she/he for I) Yes No
Does she/he ever use words that she/he seems to have invented or made up herself/himself; put things in Yes No
odd, indirect ways; or use metaphorical ways of saying things (e.g. saying hot rain for steam)
Does she/he ever say the same thing over and over in exactly the same way or insist that you say the same Yes No
thing over and over again
Does she/he ever have things that she/he seems to have to do in a very particular way or order or rituals that Yes No
she/he insists that you go through
Does her/his facial expression usually seem appropriate to the particular situation, as far as you can tell Yes No
Does she/he ever use your hand like a tool or as if it were part of her/his own body (e.g. pointing with your Yes No
finger, putting your hand on a doorknob to get you to open the door)
Does she/he ever have any interests that preoccupy her/him and might seem odd to other people (e.g. traffic Yes No
lights, drainpipes, timetables)
Does she/he ever seem to be more interested in parts of a toy or an object (e.g. spinning the wheels of a Yes No
car), rather than in using the objects as it was intended
Does she/he ever have any special interests that are unusual in their intensity but otherwise appropriate for Yes No
her/his age and peer group (e.g. trains or dinosaurs)
Does she/he ever seem to be unusually interested in the sight, feel, sound, taste, or smell of things or Yes No
people
Does she/he ever have any mannerisms or odd ways of moving her/his hands or fingers, such as flapping or Yes No
moving her/his fingers in front of her/his eyes
Does she/he ever have any complicated movements of her/his whole body, such as spinning or repeatedly Yes No
bouncing up and down
Does she/he ever injure herself/himself deliberately, such as biting her/his arm or banging her/his head Yes No
Does she/he ever have any objects (other than a soft toy or comfort blanket) that she/he has to carry around Yes No
Does she/he ever have any particular friends or a best friend Yes No
Does she/he ever talk to you just to be friendly (rather than to get something) Yes No
Does she/he ever spontaneously copy you (or other people) or what you are doing (such as vacuuming, Yes No
gardening, or mending things)
Does she/he ever spontaneously point at things around her/him just to show you things (not because she/he Yes No
wants them)
Does she/he ever use gestures, other than pointing or pulling your hand, to let you know what she/he wants Yes No
Does she/he nod her/his head to indicate yes Yes No
Does she/he shake her/his head to indicate no Yes No
Does she/he usually look at you directly in the face when doing things with you or talking with you Yes No
Does she/he smile back if someone smiles at her/him Yes No
Does she/he ever show you things that interest her/him to engage your attention? Yes No
*Adapted from the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) by Western Psychological Services. This is only for clinical, demonstrative, and non-commercial
purposes.
Does she/he ever offer to share things other than food with you Yes No
Does she/he ever seem to want you to join in her/his enjoyment of something Yes No
Does she/he ever try to comfort you if you are sad or hurt Yes No
If she/he wants something or wants help, does she/he look at you and use gestures with sounds or words to Yes No
get your attention
Does she/he show a normal range of facial expressions Yes No
Does she/he ever spontaneously join in and try to copy the actions in social games, such as The Mulberry Yes No
Bush or London Bridge Is Falling Down
Does she/he play any pretend or make-believe games Yes No
Does she/he seem interested in other children of approximately the same age whom she/he does not know Yes No
Does she/he respond positively when another child approaches her/him Yes No
If you come into a room and start talking to her/him without calling her/his name, does she/he usually look up Yes No
and pay attention to you
Does she/he ever play imaginative games with another child in such a way that you can tell that each child Yes No
understands what the other is pretending
Does she/he play cooperatively in games that need some form of joining in with a group of other children, Yes No
such as hide-and-seek or ball games?
Scoring (For Clinician Only)
Once you receive a fully-accomplished questionnaire, you need to calculate the scores. Each item can score up to a single point, but the scores are
different for each number because they are all framed differently. All-in-all, the maximum score for this questionnaire is 25.
To help you calculate the scores, please refer to this table:
1
YES
11
YES (1)
21
NO (1)
31
NO (1)
2
NO (1)
12
NO (0)
22
NO (1)
32
YES (0)
3
YES (1)
13
NO (0)
23
NO (1)
33
NO (1)
4
YES (1)
14
YES (1)
24
NO (1)
34
YES (0)
5
NO (0)
15
YES (1)
25
NO (1)
35
NO (1)
6
YES (1)
16
YES (1)
26
YES (0)
36
YES (0)
7
YES (1)
17
NO (0)
27
YES (0)
37
YES (0)
8
YES (1)
18
NO (0)
28
NO (1)
38
YES (0)
9
NO (1)
19
YES (0)
29
NO (1)
39
NO (1)
10 YES (1) 20 NO (1) 30 YES (0) 40 NO (1)
If Item 1 was marked ‘Yes’: The Total Score will be calculated based on Items 2-40.
If Item 1 was marked ‘No’: The Total Score will be calculated based on Items 8-40.
Total Score:
*Adapted from the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) by Western Psychological Services. This is only for clinical, demonstrative, and non-commercial
purposes.
