The Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM™) is an assessment that focuses exclusively on social-emotional and behavioral development in young children—and provides meaningful insights to caregivers and families. It provides in-depth information that can prevent problems by building positive partnerships with families and optimizing positive parent–child interactions in the first years of life.
See how.
With this in-depth, easy-to-use tool, social-emotional competence and development can be reliably assessed and monitored in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers at risk for delays or challenges. An ideal follow-up to screeners such as ASQ®:SE-2, the two-part SEAM™ assessment reveals detailed qualitative information on children’s social-emotional competence— and identifies their caregivers’ strengths and areas of need. Easy to learn and implement, SEAM can be used by a wide variety of early childhood professionals, including those with little or no training in mental health or behavioral interventions.
SEAM helps professionals to:
SEAM is a two-part assessment available in English and Spanish; see how it works.
User’s Guide, plus CD-ROM with master forms in English and Spanish
$52.00 • Stock Number: 72803 • 2014 • ISBN 978-1-59857-280-3
SEAM is a two-part assessment: SEAM child assessment and SEAM Family Profile.
This assessment includes three intervals with different developmental ranges:
Each interval assesses 10 child benchmarks critical to social-emotional competence, including empathy, adaptive skills, self-image, emotional responses, and healthy interactions with others.
SEAM is flexible enough to meet your specific needs—parents/caregivers can complete it independently, or it can be conducted jointly with healthcare providers if desired. The SEAM system also includes SEAM with Ages, an alternate version of the tool annotated with a helpful list of age ranges for each item. This version makes it easy to give caregivers general guidance on how social-emotional skills typically develop and where their child’s development fits on the continuum.
The Family Profile assesses parent and caregiver strengths and helps identify areas in which they need more supports and resources to foster their child’s social-emotional skills. Like the main SEAM, the Family Profile assessment includes three intervals—Infant, Toddler, and Preschool. Each interval measures four benchmarks key to a nurturing home environment: responding to needs, providing activities and play, providing predictable routines and an appropriate environment, and ensuring home safety.
What does it assess?
The Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM) is an assessment tool for measuring children’s social-emotional development and parenting competence.
Who are the developers?
SEAM was developed by some of the key developers and trainers for the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2) screener: Jane Squires, Ph.D., Diane Bricker, Ph.D., Misti Waddell, M.S., Kristin Funk, M.A., LCSW, Jantina Clifford, Ph.D., and Robert Hoselton.
What is the age range of children assessed?
2–66 months
What are the components?
The SEAM Tool – includes three intervals with different developmental ranges: Infant (2–18 months), Toddler (18–36 months), and Preschool (36–66 months) and helps identify a child’s strengths, concerns for the family that need monitoring, and agreed-on focus areas
The SEAM Family Profile – also has three developmental intervals and assesses parent and caregiver strengths and helps identify areas in which they need more supports and resources to foster their child’s social-emotional skills
(The SEAM system also includes SEAM with Ages, an alternate version of the tool annotated with a helpful list of age ranges for each item.)
What does it examine?
For each interval, the Tool assesses 10 child benchmarks critical to social-emotional competence:
The Family Profile also measures four benchmarks key to a nurturing home environment for each interval:
Where is it conducted?
In early childhood programs, homes, or other settings where children are served
Who conducts it?
Early interventionists, early childhood teachers, Head Start & Early Head Start staff, home visitors, parent educators, and mental health professionals
How long does it take to complete?
15–30 minutes (SEAM/SEAM with Ages)
10–15 minutes (Family Profile)
What languages is it available in?
English and Spanish (both are included on the CD-ROM)
Is it research-based?
Yes, SEAM has been researched with 2,200 children from 49 U.S. states and Canada.
How can the results be used?
Qualitative data from the SEAM and Family Profile can be used to determine areas for greater intervention; answers can be converted to numerical values for progress monitoring.
To confirm the utility and efficacy of SEAM, intensive research has been performed—details can be viewed below.
| Research sample | 2,200 children from 49 U.S. states and Canada |
| Inter-rater reliability (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) | Infant: 0.776 p < .01 Toddler: 0.752 Preschool: No data |
| Test-retest reliability (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) | Infant: 0.987 p < .01 Toddler: 0.968 p < .01 Preschool: 0.989 p < .01 |
| Concurrent Validity (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) | Infant: .754** with DECA-IT .628** with ITSEA Compliance, -.415* with ITSEA Negative Emotion, .651** with ITSEA ProSocial -.557** with ASQ:SEToddler: .564** with ITSEA Compliance, -.261** with ITSEA Negative Emotion, .652** with ITSEA ProSocial -.516** with ASQ:SEPreschool: -.810** with ASQ:SE* p < .05 ** p < .01 |
| Utility (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) | Parents (sample of 434)
Practitioners (sample of 35)
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