The FIND Program

Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND) is a highly effective video coaching program that facilitates responsive, supportive caregiving to significantly improve developmental outcomes for children birth to five years old.

In FIND, video is used to reinforce naturally occurring, developmentally supportive interactions. The FIND coaching process begins with video recordings of a caregiver and child in their home or other natural setting. The film is carefully edited to show brief clips in which the caregiver is engaged in developmentally supportive interactions with the child. At an individual or group coaching session, the FIND Coach reviews the edited clips in detail with the caregivers.

FIND utilizes the concept of Serve and Return that was developed at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University as the framework within which developmentally supportive interactions are identified. A serve occurs when a child initiates an interaction using words or gestures, or by focusing their attention on something or someone. The serve is returned when the caregiver notices and responds. Within the context of FIND, five specific elements of serve and return are emphasized, with one element introduced in each coaching session.

The five FIND elements are:

1. Sharing the Child’s Focus: This occurs when the adult identifies or notices what the child is interested in and then puts his/her attention there as well.

2. Supporting and Encouraging: Having noticed the child’s focus of attention, the adult responds in a supportive and/or positive way, adding his or her own reaction by giving the child further information about or acknowledging what he/she is seeing, doing, or feeling.

3. Naming: An extension of the Supporting and Encouraging element, Naming occurs when the caregiver uses words to label what the child is seeing, doing, or feeling.

4. Back and Forth Interaction: After the child has “served” and the caregiver noticed and returned the serve by Supporting and Encouraging or Naming, the interaction continues. The interaction goes back and forth between child and adult, with the adult waiting for the child’s further initiations.

5. Endings and Beginnings: This occurs when a Back and Forth interaction between child and caregiver ends and a new serve and return interaction begins. The end of the back and forth interaction is signaled by the child or the episode naturally comes to its conclusion (e.g., the book is finished).

FIND is simple, avoiding information overload or corrective teaching. It quickly shows the caregiver instances in which they are already making supportive connections with their child. The FIND coach breaks down each element of the serve and return process into manageable pieces of information. FIND offers an opportunity to intervene quickly, easily and earlier than ever before to improve the chances of healthy relationships and brain development.

FIND is also highly transportable in that the coaching can be delivered by professionals or paraprofessionals, and the video editing can be completed either by the coach or at a centralized editing “hub” where videos can be sent from field locations, and edited films can be returned to coaches.  This means that the program can be delivered in contexts in which resources are quite limited and/or staff have only limited training (e.g., rural mental health centers; child welfare supervised visits).

FIND is based in the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. The SCEC conducts research and creates tools to support children, families, caregivers, and practitioners. The SCEC’s work spans research, policy, and practice essential to advancing the world’s capacity to nurture its youngest learners and help them reach their full potential. The SCEC is an initiative of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning.