The purpose of this special issue of Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics is to present an evidence-based system to guide the physical therapy management of patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Two systematic guides to patient management will be presented. The first is a care path intended primarily for use by physical…

This paper describes the philosophy and procedures of an educational intervention program with high risk infants which is part of the Infant Studies Project at UCLA. The intervention is directed specifically at providing mothers of such infants with techniques, practices, and observation skills which enhance maternal ability. High risk infants are…

Infants who are born prematurely may experience developmental delays and impairments during infancy and beyond. Those who are born at extremely low birthweight face the greatest challenges. Many families could benefit from early intervention services through their local Part C of Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, but…

The booklet presents papers from a December 1982 workshop on specific problems in caring for ventilator-dependent children (children with respiratory distress due to prematurity, low birth weight or developmental immaturity). Following excerpts from the keynote address by C. Everett Koop, the U.S. Surgeon General, model programs from Pennsylvania,…

A hospital-based transitional care medical program for infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit is described. Family involvement is emphasized, as is interdisciplinary teamwork. Concerns that the program would encourage unnecessary hospitalization and increase vulnerability to infection have been proven unjustified. (Author/DB)

The Healthy Beginnings program is designed to help parents of prematurely born infants adjust to parenting challenges and opportunities of the first 2 years of the infant's life. The Healthy Beginnings Program provides parents of premature infants with support and guidance by offering: (1) monthly education and support meetings; (2) evaluations…

This article describes how in Alameda County, California, the Children's Hospital Oakland (CHAO) Neonatal Follow-up Program and the County Public Health Department have collaboratively addressed gaps in services for premature infants and their families through the Special Start initiative. Mental health specialists, health specialists, and…

Three early educational intervention programs designed to prevent mental retardation and to improve school readiness are profiled. The Abecedarian Project was begun as an experiment to test whether mental retardation, allegedly caused by inadequate environments, could be prevented by providing intensive preschool programs to children from birth to…