ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews various methods used to assess newborns' status and behaviors. Neonatal assessments develop for several purposes. Historically, neonates were tested to learn more about the relevant dimensions of their behavioral repertoire, to screen and identify neonates at risk for developmental delay, and to make developmental predictions. Generally, a neonatal test takes place in a hospital clinic, neonatal intensive care unit, or physician's office. As much as possible, these settings should be quiet and free of distractions since test results can be quite different in a noisy nursery compared to a dimly lit quiet room. Premature infants are neurologically immature, and as a result, they often have difficulty adapting to the intensive environment of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is often noisy and brightly lit. Premature infants face qualitatively different experiences in the hospital than do full-term infants. Further, their systems development is different from that of full-term infants.
