Recognizing characteristics with the CoSoS questionnaire

Do you have the feeling that your child aged between 12 and 48 months is developing differently from other children? Would you like to know if your child might have autism? And do you find it difficult to determine if it is necessary to seek help? The CoSoS (ESAT) questionnaire will help you answer these questions. 

CoSoS (ESAT) stands for 'Early Screening of Autistic Traits'. The questionnaire helps parents and professionals recognise problems in the areas of interaction, communication, play and stimulus processing. These are problems that occur in autism, among other things.

What you need to know about the CoSos (ESAT) questionnaire

• The questionnaire can be used for children aged around 12 to 48 months.
• The questionnaire consists of 14 questions that you can answer with 'yes' or 'no'.
• The questionnaire can be completed by parents and/or professionals. Parents and professionals can also do it together.

What can you do with the results of the CoSos (ESAT) questionnaire?

The results of the CoSoS (ESAT) questionnaire help you to assess whether help is needed. After completing the questions, you receive an overview of the answers. And an explanation of what the results mean and what you could do with them.

For reliable results, it is good to go through the questionnaire again with, for instance, the youth physician or nurse at a Youth Health Care Clinic (Jeugdgezondheidszorg. JGZ) .

PLEASE NOTE: For children younger than 12 months or older than 48 months, results are not reliable.

If you have answered a question with a 'deviating' score, your child has an increased risk of a developmental disorder. This does not necessarily mean that your child has autism, but it does mean that it is sensible to further explore why your child is developing differently.

Ontwikkeling CoSoS: Dr. C. Dietz en Dr. I. Servatius-Oosterling
Illustraties: Peter Brouwers

In international literature the CoSoS questionnaire is described as ESAT. CoSoS is the revised name for ESAT. They are the same questions.