Special infant developmental care training program opens
Puja Mukherjee
Issue date: 9/11/06 Section: Pulse
Specialized training in personal developmental care for infants in intensive care nurseries is now available to health care providers at the UIC Medical Center through the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program.
"UIC is on the cutting edge in terms of formal developmental care," said Jennifer Hofherr, the program trainer and occupational therapist at UIC.
The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program is one of only 10 programs available throughout the United States, in addition to five centers in Europe and one in Argentina.
Health care providers are trained to understand when an infant feels most comfortable and regulated, thus allowing caregivers to adjust treatment for effective results. The program focuses on infant behavior in order to decipher when the level of stress or stimulation in an infant's environment may be too much for the child to handle. Professionals are taught to examine and analyze a baby's behavior by observing factors such as heart rate, breathing, motor skills, muscle movement and emotional state. Professionals then adapt the environment to these physiological observations by changing factors such as lighting and noise.
Researchers claim that childcare focused on brain maturity provides the most positive growth for a developmentally challenged infant.
Hofherr said "care that supports brain development is very important for care in infants [which] is what the UIC medical program was lacking before this training began."
The opening of the program was marked by a conference emphasizing the program and its objectives with founder Heidelise Als, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who reviewed ways in which medical care and early intervention can be advantageous for children who are in danger of acquiring developmental challenges.
The Harris foundation awarded UIC a grant to have Als initiate the program on the medical campus. Als collaborated with UIC to build a center to train professionals from several hospitals in the community. The site of this training center is located at UIC's School of Nursing.
UIC's training program is funded by the Harris Foundation.
Medical, nursing and other support services are scheduled according to the family's needs and convenience. Parents are highly urged to take part in the program by understanding their child's behavior and expression in order to participate closely in their developmental progress.
More information about training opportunities can be attained by contacting Jennifer Hofherr or Jean Powlesland at (312) 996-1747.
"UIC is on the cutting edge in terms of formal developmental care," said Jennifer Hofherr, the program trainer and occupational therapist at UIC.
The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program is one of only 10 programs available throughout the United States, in addition to five centers in Europe and one in Argentina.
Health care providers are trained to understand when an infant feels most comfortable and regulated, thus allowing caregivers to adjust treatment for effective results. The program focuses on infant behavior in order to decipher when the level of stress or stimulation in an infant's environment may be too much for the child to handle. Professionals are taught to examine and analyze a baby's behavior by observing factors such as heart rate, breathing, motor skills, muscle movement and emotional state. Professionals then adapt the environment to these physiological observations by changing factors such as lighting and noise.
Researchers claim that childcare focused on brain maturity provides the most positive growth for a developmentally challenged infant.
Hofherr said "care that supports brain development is very important for care in infants [which] is what the UIC medical program was lacking before this training began."
The opening of the program was marked by a conference emphasizing the program and its objectives with founder Heidelise Als, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who reviewed ways in which medical care and early intervention can be advantageous for children who are in danger of acquiring developmental challenges.
The Harris foundation awarded UIC a grant to have Als initiate the program on the medical campus. Als collaborated with UIC to build a center to train professionals from several hospitals in the community. The site of this training center is located at UIC's School of Nursing.
UIC's training program is funded by the Harris Foundation.
Medical, nursing and other support services are scheduled according to the family's needs and convenience. Parents are highly urged to take part in the program by understanding their child's behavior and expression in order to participate closely in their developmental progress.
More information about training opportunities can be attained by contacting Jennifer Hofherr or Jean Powlesland at (312) 996-1747.
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