ADHD checklist for teachers and therapists
Summary
Use this comprehensive social-emotional assessment tool PDF to select the most effective evidence-based measures for evaluating social, emotional, and relational skills.
Leverage professional social-emotional assessment tools like the BASC-3 and ASQ:SE-2 to identify developmental delays and inform targeted therapeutic interventions.
Improve diagnostic accuracy by applying the CASEL framework to assess core competencies, including self-management and responsible decision-making, across diverse age groups.
Social-emotional assessment tools can be helpful measures, informing biopsychosocial evaluations and treatment planning.
This article provides an overview of the different types of social-emotional assessments, with examples, and how therapists can use them.
We’ve included a free social-emotional assessment tool PDF to save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use in your practice.
Download the social-emotional assessment tool PDF to keep a quick-reference guide on hand during client sessions.
What is a social-emotional evaluation?
Educators, therapists, and psychologists commonly use social-emotional assessment tools in schools and clinical settings to evaluate emotional, social, and relational skills.
While there are several formats of social-emotional assessments used in different contexts, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has created a framework defining a set of five core competencies that support children in developing these core skills:
1. Self-awareness
Identifying emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior
Identifying personal, cultural, and linguistic assets
Integrating personal and social identities
Examining biases
Demonstrating honesty and integrity
Experiencing self-efficacy
Recognizing strengths
2. Relationship skills
Establishing and maintaining healthy relationships with diverse individuals and groups
Communicating effectively
Practicing teamwork and collaboration
Resisting negative social pressures
Seeking and offering help and support when needed
Standing up for the rights of others
3. Self-management
Impulse control
Self-discipline
Using planning and organizational skills
Self-motivation
4. Responsible decision-making
Making constructive decisions about behavior and social interactions, such as demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness
Making a reasoned judgment to solve problems after analyzing information and data
Identifying solutions for personal problems
Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one's actions
Understanding how critical thinking skills can be used inside and outside of the classroom
Assess interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts
Reflecting on one’s role to promote personal, familial, and community well-being
5. Social awareness
Consideration of all perspectives and others’ strengths
Empathy and compassion
Appreciation of diversity
Understanding and expressing gratitude
Understanding the influence of systems and organizations on behavior
Concern for others
Results of these assessments can be used to provide targeted interventions and strategies to help children acquire these skills.
Examples of social-emotional assessments
There are many social-emotional assessment tools available, which we’ve illustrated below.
Social-Emotional Assessment Measure (SEAM)
Setting: Early childhood programs, home-based interventions.
Age group: 2 to 66 months.
Purpose: To assess social-emotional development and child-caregiver interaction.
Current usage: Used for identifying areas for intervention and tracking progress in young children.
Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE-2)
Setting: Pediatric offices, early childhood centers, schools.
Age group: 1 to 72 months.
Purpose: To screen for potential social-emotional delays.
Current usage: Widely used as a primary screening tool for early identification of behavioral or emotional concerns.
Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA)
Setting: Preschools, childcare centers.
Age group: Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Purpose: To measure resilience and identify behavioral concerns.
Current usage: Often used in early childhood mental health programs to promote social-emotional health.
Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS)
Setting: Schools, clinical settings.
Age group: 3 to 18 years.
Purpose: To assess social skills, problem behaviors, and academic competence.
Current usage: Used by school psychologists and educators to develop intervention plans for social skills.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
Setting: Schools, mental health clinics, research settings.
Age group: 2 to 17 years.
Purpose: To screen for emotional and behavioral problems.
Current usage: Popular for brief mental health screenings and monitoring treatment outcomes.
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-4)
Setting: Hospitals, clinics, early intervention centers.
Age group: 1 to 42 months.
Purpose: To assess cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior.
Current usage: Gold standard for diagnosing developmental delays in very young children.
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
Setting: Schools, clinical settings.
Age group: 2 years to 90+ years.
Purpose: To measure receptive vocabulary and verbal ability.
Current usage: Commonly used in educational and clinical settings to assess language skills.
Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (Beery VMI)
Setting: Schools, occupational therapy clinics.
Age group: 2 to 100 years.
Purpose: To assess visual-motor integration, visual perception, and motor coordination.
Current usage: Frequently used by occupational therapists and school psychologists to identify fine motor issues.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland-3)
Setting: Clinical, educational, and research settings.
Age group: Birth to 90 years.
Purpose: To measure adaptive behavior (daily living skills).
Current usage: Standard tool for diagnosing intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2)
Setting: Schools, physical and occupational therapy clinics.
Age group: 4 to 21 years.
Purpose: To assess fine and gross motor skills.
Current usage: Used to identify motor delays and help plan physical education or therapy programs.
Conners 4th Edition (Conners 4)
Setting: Schools, clinical settings.
Age group: 6 to 18 years.
Purpose: To assess ADHD and common co-occurring disorders.
Current usage: One of the most common tools for diagnosing ADHD and monitoring the effects of medication.
Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3)
Setting: Schools, clinical settings.
Age group: 2 to 25 years.
Purpose: To provide a comprehensive assessment of behavior and emotions.
Current usage: Widely used by psychologists to diagnose behavioral disorders and emotional disturbances.
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV)
Setting: Private clinics, schools.
Age group: 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months.
Purpose: To measure cognitive development and intellectual functioning.
Current usage: Used for identifying giftedness or intellectual delays in young children.
Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS-4)
Setting: Preschools, elementary schools.
Age group: 3 to 6 years 11 months.
Purpose: To assess academic readiness and conceptual knowledge.
Current usage: Used to determine if a child is prepared for the transition to kindergarten or first grade.
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-5)
Setting: Schools, speech-language clinics.
Age group: 5 to 21 years.
Purpose: To diagnose language and communication disorders.
Current usage: Standard tool used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to assess language proficiency.
Sensory Profile 2
Setting: Homes, schools, occupational therapy clinics.
Age group: Birth to 14 years 11 months.
Purpose: To evaluate sensory processing patterns in everyday life.
Current usage: Used to identify sensory sensitivities and develop strategies for sensory regulation.
Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)
Setting: Schools, mental health clinics, research settings.
Age group: 1.5 to 18 years.
Purpose: To identify emotional and behavioral problems.
Current usage: Highly researched tool used for clinical diagnosis and monitoring therapeutic progress.
How to use the social-emotional assessment tool PDF
These social-emotional assessment tools are versatile and easy to integrate into your private practice.
Here are a few ways to use them:
Clinical sessions: Use them during a live session to facilitate a comprehensive emotional assessment test.
Intake and planning: Include a social-emotional assessment tool PDF in your initial intake paperwork to gain deeper insights for your evaluations and treatment planning.
Supervision and training: Share the social-emotional assessment tool PDF with supervisees to provide essential psychoeducation on the clinical application of social-emotional assessment tools.
Sources
CASEL. (n.d.). What is the CASEL Framework?
Children’s Institute. (2017). Comparison of Social Emotional Assessments, Curricula, and Competencies.
Lawson, G. M., McKenzie, M. E., Becker, K. D., Selby, L., & Hoover, S. A. (2019). The Core Components of Evidence-Based Social Emotional Learning Programs. Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research.
Nowinski, C. J., DeWalt, D. A., Carter, A. S., Chacko, A., Gross, H. E., et al. (2021). Recommendations for Assessment of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health for the National Children's Study. Frontiers in pediatrics.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (2021) Understanding the Differences: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Competence Assessment and Social, Emotional, and Behavioral (SEB) Screening and Assessment.
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