Infant Assessment

This book explains that over the past three decades researchers and clinicians have developed an array of assessment methods for measuring infant development and diagnosing infants with developmental delays. It introduces readers to the general principles and practices in the assessment of infants.

Infancy is one of the most fascinating periods in the human life cycle. In two short years, infants become thinking, speaking, social beings. As this book explains, over the past three decades, researchers and clinicians have developed an array of assessment methods for measuring infant development and diagnosing infants with developmental delays.The field of infant assessment has broadened from a major focus on cognitive development to an emphasis on parent-infant interaction, play assessment, and newer strategies that involve naturalistic observations. Because of the need to look at the whole infant, assessment often involves multiple disciplines. The interdisciplinary approach measures the infant domains of motor skills, cognitive abilities, and language acquisition and evaluates the infant''s psychosocial environment.The chapters in this volume provide a solid overview of the current trends in infant assessment measures and procedures. The book can be used in undergraduate and graduate infant development courses and for advanced courses in infant assessment.