The Neurological Assessment of the Infant (Ages Birth to 12 months) Assignment

The Neurological Assessment of the Infant (Ages Birth to 12 months) - Assignment Example motor, cognitive, and socio-emotional or behavioral impairment). Because of the presence of developmental disorders, pre-term babies are at risks of experiencing more serious problems with regards to their motor, cognitive, and behavioral functioning as they grow older (Tronick & Lester, 2013). The best way to check the whether or not an infant is at risk of having developmental disability or disorder is to conduct neurological assessment/examination (Hadders-Algra et al., 2010). Aside from testing the potential link between an infant’s neurological, motor, and behavioral functioning, Noble and Boyd (2012) mentioned that it is possible to conduct both neuromotor and neurobehavioral examinations not only to detect potential dysfunction on the infant’s central nervous system. Often times, neurobehavioral examination is necessary to learn more about the infants’ behavioral strengths and weaknesses (Brown & Spittle, 2015). In practice, there are quite a lot of neurological tools which can be used in the actual examination. For instance, Tronick and Leste (2013) mentioned that NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) can be use in detecting signs of neurobehavioral impairment among infants. In another study, Gabriel, Formiga and Linhares (2013) mentioned that the Neurobehavioral Assessment of Preterm Infant (NAPI) can be use to examine pre-term infants’ body movements, alertness, and cry among many others. Through early assessment, healthcare professionals can advice the child’s parents about the most appropriate intervention to consider (Brown & Spittle, 2015). Brown, N., & Spittle, A. (2015). Neurobehavioral Evaluation in the Preterm and Term Infant. Current Pediatric Reviews. 2015. 11(4). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://benthamscience.com/journal/abstracts.php?journalID=cpr&articleID=121467 Gabriel, P., Formiga, C., & Linhares, M. (2013). Early Neurobehavioral