# SEAM

## An in-depth approach to social-emotional development.

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.

### An effective and comprehensive approach to social-emotional assessment.

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](/content/products-pricing/asqse-2/ "ASQ:SE-2"/index.html), 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:

- support development of important social-emotional skills in order to minimize challenging behaviors
- build strong, proactive partnerships with families
- promote positive parent–child interactions in the critical first years of life
- assist with choosing developmentally appropriate goals and intervention activities
- monitor child progress toward social-emotional goals

SEAM is a two-part assessment available in English and Spanish; see [how it works](/content/products-pricing/seam/#silk-tabs-0-2/index.html).

#### View the _Using the SEAM with Young Children_ webcast, presented by SEAM developers Jane Squires, Ph.D., and Misti Waddell, M.S.

**[Watch the SEAM webcast](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlp68FHK67Y)**

### SEAM: How it works.

SEAM is a two-part assessment: SEAM child assessment and SEAM Family Profile.

##### SEAM Child Assessment

This assessment includes three intervals with different developmental ranges:

- **Infant**(2–18 months)
- **Toddler**(18–36 months)
- **Preschool**(36–66 months)

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.

**[See a sample SEAM Form](/content/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SEAM-Main-Form-Preschool.pdf)**

##### SEAM Family Profile

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.

**[See a sample Family Profile form](http://archive.brookespublishing.com/documents/SEAM-Family-Profile-Preschool.pdf)**

#### Research and validity specifics for SEAM

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:SE  Toddler: .564** with ITSEA Compliance, -.261** with ITSEA Negative Emotion, .652** with ITSEA ProSocial  -.516** with ASQ:SE  Preschool: -.810** with ASQ:SE* p < .05    ** p < .01 |
| Utility (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) | Parents (sample of 434)      - 93% felt SEAM included appropriate and useful questions      - 56% were alerted to new child skills as a result of completing the SEAM  Practitioners (sample of 35)      - 92% agree that completing SEAM gave meaningful information about children |

The Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM) is an assessment tool for measuring children’s social-emotional development and parenting competence.

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.