Recognizing and responding to young children in need of

extra social-emotional support starts with assessment

An introduction to two caregiver-completed assessment tools Jantina Clifford, Ph.D., University of Oregon, College of Education NAEYC Conference Nov. 7, 2014

Session will cover:

1. Importance of Social-emotional development.
2. Overview of tiered model approach for supporting social-emotional development using the Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) Pyramid Model
3. Introduction to: – Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-emotional (ASQ:SE) – Social Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM™)

What is Social-emotional Development?

Children’s reactions and responses that produce: – satisfying interactions between the individual and his or her social world – comfortable self-images and perceptions by others – matching and modulation of emotional and social responses to internal and external events.

What is Social-emotional Development?

Developmental-Organizational Framework
(Cicchetti, 1993)

Why Assess Social-emotional Development?

• Healthy early childhood social -emotional development is essential for educational readiness, social well-being, and preventive mental health (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001; Lyman, Njoroge, Willis. Early Childhood Psychosocial Screening in Culturally Diverse Populations: A Survey of Clinical Experience with Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social -Emotional (ASQ-SE). Zero to three, May 2007.
• American Academy of Pediatrics, U.S. Public Health Service have called for improvement in early identification of psychosocial disturbances or risks ( American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001, 2006; Pelletier & Abrams, 2003; U.S. Public Health Service, 2000)
• Strong links between early social-emotional behaviors and subsequent outcomes.

Social-emotional Research

• Links exist between earliest emotional development and later social behavior (Cicchetti & Cohen, 1995a, 1995b; Reynolds, Temple, Robertson, & Mann, 2001)

• Behaviors, even in infancy, signal the need for intervention (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000)

• Links exist between early risk factors, poor outcomes, and violence (Conroy & Brown, 2004) rd

• By 3 grade, programs for children with antisocial behavior are mostly ineffective (Greenberg et al., 2003; Walker, 2004)

Barriers to Early Identification and Treatment of Young Children

Experiencing Social-emotional Challenges

• Lack of clear definition of what is acceptable
• Poorly equipped professionals
• Few valid screening measures
• Lack of community-based mental health services for young children and their families
• Difficult for young children experiencing social- emotional difficulties or behavioral challenges to qualify for services Squires, J. & Bricker, D., (2007)

3-Tiered Approach to Supporting Social-emotional Development

(PBIS Pyramid Model)

Tier 3 (Tertiary Intervention)

Tier 2 (Secondary Prevention)

Tier 1 (Universal Promotion) Supported by an effective workforce

Tier 1: Nurturing and Responsive Relationships & High Quality

Supportive Environments

• Supportive responsive relationships among adults and children is an essential component to promote healthy social-emotional development.
• High quality early childhood environments promote positive outcomes for all children.

Tier 2: Targeted Social-emotional Support

• Systematic approaches to teaching social- emotional skills can have a preventive and remedial effect.

Tier 3: Intensive Intervention

• Assessment based intervention that results in individualized behavior support plans (e.g., Functional behavioral analysis).

Response to Intervention in ECE: “Recognition & Response”

Before we can Respond, we need to Recognize!

• “The key components of Response to Intervention (and Recognition & Response) are: – systematic screening and progress monitoring, – the use of multiple tiers of increasingly intense interventions, and – a problem-solving process to aid in decision- making.”

Assessment in a Tiered Model Approach

• Assessment is integral to teaching
• Tells us: – Who:
• is doing fine with current level of instruction and support
• needs more individualized instruction and support – What to teach – How to target teaching efforts – Whether children are responding to teaching, support, and intervention methods.

The Linked System Framework

Why Screen?

Clearly \nTypical \nUnder Detected \nAdapted from Macias, M. (2006) D-PIP Training Workshop

What is the ASQ:SE?

• Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional • Developmental screening tool designed to be
completed by parents/caregivers • Assists in identifying children who may be at risk for
social-emotional difficulties

– Questionable (consider referral for
further evaluation)

– At risk (development should be
closely monitored)

– On schedule

Features of the ASQ:SE

• Parent- or caregiver-completed screening tool that encourages parent/caregiver involvement

• Series of questionnaires for children ages 3 months to 5 ½ years – 6-, 12-, 18-, 24-, 30-, 36-, 48-, and 60-month intervals – Between 19 (6 month) and 33 (60 month) scored questions on each questionnaire

• Items address competence and problem behaviors

• Externalizing and internalizing behaviors targeted

Features of the ASQ:SE

Behavioral Definition Areas Self-Regulation Ability/willingness to calm, settle, or adjust to physiological or environmental conditions Compliance Ability/willingness to conform to the direction of others and follow rules Communication Verbal/nonverbal signals that indicate feelings, affect, internal states Adaptive Ability/success in coping with physiological needs Autonomy Ability/willingness to establish independence Affect Ability/willingness to demonstrate feelings and empathy for others

Interaction with Ability/willingness to respond or initiate People social responses with caregivers, adults, peers.

Using SEAM Results

• Items are all competence skills (i.e., skills we want children to learn or develop).
• Can promote conversations with parents focused on social-emotional development.
• “Non-judgmental” assessment: Items can be scored but results are not intended to compare or identify children.
• Results can be used to identify goals and organize intervention efforts.
• Scores can be used to evaluate child’s progress toward goals.

Summary

ASQ:SE

– Tier 1:

• Promotes conversations with parents

• Assists in identifying children:

– In need of systematic approaches to teaching (SEAM @ Tier 2)

– Who may need referral for further evaluation
Tier 2:

– Tier 2:

• Re-administer to evaluate child progress.

SEAM

• Promotes conversations with parents

• Assists in: – Developing individualized child goals

– Organizing teaching and family support efforts

– Developing individualized child goals

– Tiers 1 & 3

Andrew’s SEAM

• ANDREW is 30 months old and lives with his mother, father and 6-month-old brother. ANDREW attends a center-based childcare program 5 mornings a week, and is at home with his baby brother and grandmother in the afternoons. His mother is a student at the university and his father works full- time. His mother was home with him full-time until 3 months ago, when she started attending a PhD program at the university.
• ANDREW enjoys playing with trains, trucks, and cars. He is very active. At the childcare center ANDREW has difficulty separating from his mother and cries for long periods of time. ANDREW is also slow to warm up and join in activities.
• Review Andrew’s SEAM and discuss/answer the following questions in your group. Questions for Discussion
• What are Andrew’s strengths?
• What are 2 social-emotional goals you would like to suggest for Andrew?
• What are some strategies or resources that you think might be helpful for Andrew?

Summary

ASQ:SE

– Tier 1:

• Promotes conversations with parents

• Assists in identifying children:

– In need of systematic approaches to teaching (SEAM @ Tier 2)

– Who may need referral for further evaluation

– Tier 2:

• Re-administer to evaluate child progress.

SEAM

• Promotes conversations with parents

• Assists in:

– Monitoring child progress

– Organizing teaching and family support efforts

– Developing individualized child goals

– Tiers 1 & 3