Pre-term Infant Assessments
What is a Pre-term Infant Assessment?
A pre-term baby is one who is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. If your baby was born pre-term or had medical concerns at birth, you may have had a recommendation for a formalised assessment that provides valuable information about your baby’s neurological and general developmental presentation.
This detailed information helps guide us and you and your paediatrician in how to best support your baby’s development and ensure the earliest possible intervention. We offer objective assessment with specialist training in key assessment tools, recommended for early detection of developmental concerns, including neurological concerns for conditions such as Cerebral Palsy.
Who is a Pre-term Infant Assessment for?
Pre-term assessments are suitable for infants born early or those who experienced medical concerns in-utero or following birth. Early identification, especially of neurological concerns, allows for early intervention to help your baby achieve their best outcome. We use gold-standard assessments to monitor neurological development, including tools such as the General Movements and the HINE.
What Does the Service Involve?
Our pre-term assessment service may involve the following tools:
General Movements (GMs) Assessment
General Movements is a non-invasive assessment that provides information on how your baby’s neurological system is developing and allows for early identification of neurological issues. Infants have spontaneous and typical “general movements” in their neck, arms, trunk, and legs from before birth up until about 20 weeks post term.
To perform the assessment, a video is taken of your infant calmly lying on their back in a nappy. Physiotherapists who have been trained in how to assess for general movements will view and score the video. Ideally, around four videos are taken during the first three to four months of your baby’s life, which provides a complete trajectory. By about three months of age, this assessment can be highly predictive of Cerebral Palsy.
Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE)
The HINE can be used to assess infants from two to 24 months. The assessment is performed in the clinic, where your physiotherapist will run through several standardised items. This will later be scored, and feedback will be provided. The HINE is recommended for early detection of infants at high risk of Cerebral Palsy.
Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS)
The AIMS is a standardised observational examination tool used to assess the maturation of gross motor skills of infants from term (i.e. 40 weeks gestation) to 18 months post-term. The AIMS was developed as a reference guide for the development of infants based on age related norms. It can be used as a screening tool to detect and track early developmental delays.It compares a child’s level of motor development against the expected norms for their age in four categories: prone, supine, sitting and standing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the ideal age for the General Movements assessment?
A: The assessment is ideal for infants from before birth up until about 20 weeks post term. Taking around four videos during the first three to four months of life provides the most accurate picture.
Q: What is the benefit of early detection?
A: Early identification of a neurological or developmental concern allows for targeted, early intervention to begin immediately, which is crucial for capitalising on your baby’s neurological adaptability (neuroplasticity).
Q: Will I receive a report after the assessment?
A: Yes, after the assessment, the results will be scored, and your physiotherapist will provide feedback, which can then be shared with your paediatrician and other health professionals.
How to make an appointment
- Call us on 0422 229 971 or fill in the enquiry form below.
- Our team will arrange an initial chat.
- We’ll book your first session and welcome your child to Developmental Therapies
WE'RE CREATIVE
WE'RE PASIONATE
WE CARE
Contact us
Call Us
Our Location
Suite 1/66 Jessica Boulevard
MINYAMA QLD 4575
(In shared rooms with Orthotic Solutions)
Open Hours
Monday 9am – 5pm
Tuesday 9am – 5pm
Wednesday 8am – 5pm
Thursday 8am – 5pm
Friday 8am – 12noon