ABSTRACT
Assessment of infants and young children for the purpose of guidance, care, and prevention of interferences to growth requires a different orientation from the more customary assessment in a medical setting. Assessment of the developmental status of a young child may be undertaken on various levels and for many reasons. "High risk" implies proneness to severe difficulties and can characterize communities, families, mothers, or infants. The scope of assessment will vary depending on the aims and uses to which it will be put. For example, a relatively limited assessment may be focused on ruling out or diagnosing major defects, disease, injury, or developmental disturbance. The strangeness of the examination and the examiner can create a source of error in assessment of infants and young children. Strange objects, instruments, and furnishings contribute to the orientation problem of infants, especially sensitive and differentiated infants and those who already have orientation difficulties.
