| Components |
SEAM, SEAM with Ages (same items as SEAM but includes age ranges for each item), SEAM Family Profile |
| Age range of children |
2-66 months (Infant: 2-18 months; Toddler: 18-36 months; Preschool: 36-66 months) |
| Who conducts it |
Early interventionists, early childhood teachers, Head Start & Early Head Start staff, home visitors, parent educators, and mental health professionals |
| Where it is conducted |
In early education programs, homes, or other settings where children are served |
| Number of items |
SEAM and SEAM with Ages forms have 10 child benchmarks with corresponding items. Infant (35 items), Toddler (35 items), Preschool (41 items). SEAM Family Profile forms have 4 adult benchmarks with corresponding items. Infant (9 items), Toddler (17 items), Preschool (17 items) |
| Languages Available |
English and Spanish (both included on the CD-ROM) |
| Sample item |
SEAM and SEAM with Ages Benchmark: Baby Participates in Healthy Interactions Item: Baby shows interest in you and other familiar caregivers. SEAM Family Profile: Benchmark: Responding to my baby's needs Item: I understand my child's nonverbal communication and know how to respond. |
| Time to complete |
SEAM and SEAM with Ages: 10-30 minutes; SEAM Family Profile: 10-15 minutes |
| Scores provided |
SEAM/SEAM with Ages: Can provide qualitative data with focus areas marked. Or, answers can be converted to numerical values for progress monitoring. SEAM Family Profile: Qualitative data with focus areas marked |
| Research sample |
2,200 children from 49 U.S. states and Canada |
| Reliability (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) |
Inter-rater reliability: Infant: 0.776 p<.01; Toddler: 0.752; Preschool: No data. Test-retest reliability: Infant: 0.987 p<.01; Toddler: 0.968 p<.01; Preschool: 0.989 p<.01 |
| Concurrent Validity (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) |
Infant: 0.754 with DECA-IT; 0.628 with ITSEA Compliance; -0.415 with ITSEA Negative Emotion; 0.651 with ITSEA ProSocial; -0.557 with ASQ:SE. Toddler: 0.564 with ITSEA Compliance; -0.261 with ITSEA Negative Emotion; 0.652 with ITSEA ProSocial; -0.516 with ASQ:SE. Preschool: -0.810 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. |