Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) – Current

PC Answer Sheet
Michael Rutter, M.D., F.R.S., Anthony Bailey, M.D., Sibel Kazak Berument, Ph.D.,
Catherine Lord, Ph.D., and Andrew Pickles, Ph.D.

Name of Subject: _______________________ D.O.B. _________ Interview Date ________ Age: ____

Gender:  F  M Name of Respondent: ______________________ Relation to Subject: __________

Directions: Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. Please answer each question by
selecting yes or no. A few questions ask about several related types of behavior; please select yes if any of these
behaviors were present during the past 3 months. Although you may be uncertain about whether some
behaviors were present or not, please answer yes or no to every question on the basis of what you think.

Item Yes No
1. Is she/he now able to talk using short phrases or sentences? If no, skip to question 8.  
2. Do you have a to and fro “conversation” with her/him that involves taking turns or building on
 
what you have said?
3. Does she/he ever use odd phrases or say the same thing over and over in almost exactly the
 
same way (either phases that she/he hears other people use or ones that she/he makes up?
4. Does she/he ever use socially inappropriate questions or statements? For example, does
 
she/he ever regularly ask personal questions or make personal comments at awkward times?
5. Does she/he ever get his/her pronouns mixed up (e.g., saying you or she/he for I)?  
6. Does she/he ever use words that she/he seems to have invented or made up her/himself; put
things in odd, indirect ways; or use metaphorical ways of saying things (e.g., saying hot rain  
for steam)?
7. Does she/he ever say the same thing over and over in exactly the same way or insist that you
 
say the same thing over and over again?
8. Does she/he have things that she/he seems to do in a very particular way or order or rituals
 
that she/he insists that you go through?
9. Does her/his facial expressions usually seem appropriate to the particular situation, as far as
 
you can tell?
10. Does she/he ever use your hand like a tool or as if it were part of his/her own body (e.g.,
 
pointing with your finger or putting your hand on a doorknob to get you to open the door)?
11. Does she/he ever have any interests that preoccupy her/him and might seem odd to other
 
people (e.g., traffic lights, drainpipes, or timetables)?
12. Does she/he ever seem to be more interested in parts of a toy or an object (e.g., spinning the
 
wheels of a car), rather than in using the object as it was intended?
13. Does she/he ever have any special interests that are unusual in their intensity but otherwise
 
appropriate for his/her age and peer group (e.g., trains or dinosaurs)?
14. Does she/he ever seem to be unusually interested in the sight, feel, sound, taste, or smell of
 
things or people?
15. Does she/he ever have any mannerisms or off ways of moving her/his hands or fingers, such
 
as flapping or moving her/his fingers in front of her/his eyes?
16. Does she/he ever have any complicated movements of her/his whole body, such as spinning
 
or repeatedly bouncing up and down?
Item Yes No
17. Does she/he ever injure her/himself deliberately, such as by biting her/his arm or banging
 
her/his head?
18. Does she/he ever have any objects (other than a soft toy or comfort blanket) that she/he has
 
to carry around?
19. Does she/he have any particular friends or a best friend?  
20. Does she/he ever talk with you just to be friendly (rather than to get something)?  
21. Does she/he ever spontaneously copy you (or other people) or what you are doing (such as
 
vacuuming, gardening, or mending things)?
22. Does she/he ever spontaneously point at things around her/him just to show you things (not
 
because she/he wants them?
23. Does she/he ever use gestures, other than pointing or pulling your hand, to let you know
 
what she/he wants?
24. Does she/he nod her/his head to indicate yes?  
25. Does she/he shake her/his head to indicate no?  
26. Does she/he usually look at you directly in the face when doing things with you or talking with
 
you?
27. Does she/he smile back if someone smiles at her/him?  
28. Does she/he ever show you things that interest her/him to engage your attention?  
29. Does she/he ever offer to share things other than food with you?  
30. Does she/he ever seem to want you to join in her/his enjoyment of something?  
31. Does she/he ever try to comfort you if you are sad or hurt?  
32. If she/he wants something or wants help, does she/he look at you and use gestures with
 
sounds or words to get your attention?
33. Does she/he show a normal range of facial expressions?  
34. Does she/he ever spontaneously join in and try to copy the actions in social games, such as
 
The Mulberry Bush or London Bridges Is Falling Down?
35. Does she/he play any pretend or make-believe games?  
36. Does she/he seem interested in other children of approximately the same age whom she/he
 
does not know?
37. Does she/he respond positively when another child approaches her/him?  
38. If you come into a room and start talking to her/him without calling her/his name, does
 
she/he usually look up and pay attention to you?
39. Does she/he ever play imaginative games with another child in such a way that you can tell
 
that each child understands what the other is pretending?
40. Does she/he play cooperatively in games that need some form of joining in with a group of
 
other children, such as hide-and-seek or ball games?