cent Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Early identification of infants at risk for problems in neurobehavior and develop-ment is an ongoing challenge in pediatric care. Detection of subtle differences in the nursery is challenged by the transient na-ture of many neurobehavioral signs and by short lengths of stay which limit the ability of pediatricians to perform serial assess-ments. Most efforts at formal developmen-tal screening in the medical home begin at the 9-month visit, when variations in the progression of motor skills can be reliably detected.1 Since early intervention opti-mizes outcomes,2 the current practice of postponing formal screens until the 9-month visit could result in missed oppor-tunities for developmental support. INFANT ASSESSMENT TOOLS The tools traditionally available for pediatricians ’ screening in early infancy are known to be poor predictors of long-term developmental outcome.3 The re