M. Virginia Wyly - Infant Assessment

M. Virginia Wyly

STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AT BUFFALO

Developmental Psychology

First published 1997 by Westview Press

Published 2018 by Routledge
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I nterest in the development, competencies, and needs of infants has burgeoned in recent years. Infancy is now acknowledged to be a period of rapid growth and change. The process of assessing infant development provides an understanding of an infants abilities as well as the infants caregiving environment.

Early efforts to assess infants evaluated developmental performance using traditional psychometric scales based on normative schedules of development. These assessment methods enabled clinicians to compare an infants attainment of developmental milestones with that of a normed population sample. Such assessments also provided an understanding of how infants develop. Although the traditional standardized testing movement dominated the field of assessment for thirty years, there have been dramatic changes in infant assessment since 1990. This evolution has been guided by the implementation of Public Law 99-457 Part H, which includes directives for identifying and providing intervention for at-risk infants and their families. Assessments are now performed to identify risk, diagnose developmental problems, and plan programmatic early intervention. Assessment strategies include traditional assessments as well as a range of developmental measures within the scope of comprehensive assessment that involves parent participation and the use of multiple criteria tailored for individual infants.

Recent theory and research in infancy has also contributed to innovations in infant assessment. The recognition that infants are complex social beings whose behaviors and competencies combine and recombine to organize more sophisticated skills has challenged clinicians to develop new assessment measures. New procedures and assessment processes are being refined with the goal of reaching a deeper understanding of infant competencies and the optimal elements of the caregiving environment.

This book was written to introduce readers to the general principles and practices in the assessment of infants. , some of the challenges and new directions in assessment are covered.

M. Virginia Wyly

I am especially grateful to Mary Mueller, whose assistance was invaluable in the preparation of the text. Her good humor, support, and competence helped make possible the preparation of this book. I extend my gratitude to my colleague and friend Richard C. Towne, professor emeritus at Buffalo State College, for his skillful editing of this manuscript. I thank Robert Pollaro and Lori Atherton, who read drafts of the manuscript as it was being prepared and carefully reviewed the references. My special thanks go to the infants and their families at the Bornhava Early Intervention Program, who have shared their journey and taught me the wisdom of collaborative assessment.

M. V. W.