Infant Toddler Development Training
Module 6, Lesson 1

Highlights

This lesson provided the ITDS with an introduction to health and disease in infants and toddlers including definition of terms. The basic priorities of newborn development and care were reviewed. Health issues relating to premature births were explained. The ITDS is reminded to make a neurological correction for children until the age of two years to adjust for prematurity when calculating scores on developmental assessments.

The relevance of feeding issues for the newborn and infant were summarized. Infant morbidity and mortality were explained with the major causes cited. The impact on the family, the cost of health care, and ethics related to the provision of care for infants and toddlers with medically complex conditions and/or intensive special needs were briefly summarized. The ITDS was reminded that all infants and toddlers need a medical home to serve as the hub of their medical care and record keeping. Website links to relevant information were provided for expansion of ideas presented in the lesson.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics (2003). Infant Mortality Rates: Latest figures 2001 and 2002. December.

American Academy of Pediatrics (2001). Policy statement: WIC Program; Provisional section on breastfeeding. In Pediatrics. Vol. 108, No. 5. November. pp. 1216 – 1217. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics/108/5/1216.full.pdf

Apgar, V. (1994 – 1998). Apgar scoring for newborns. Childbirth Organization. http://www.childbirth.org/articles/

Batshaw, ML (2002). Children with disabilities, 5th edition. Maryland: Paul H. Brookes.

Clinical Evidence. About us. Website owned by BMJ Publishing Group Limited. BMA House, Tavistock Square, London. http://www.clinicalevidence.com/ceweb/about/index.jsp

Florida Vital Statistics Annual Report. (2002). Live Births and Fetal and Infant Deaths. Florida's Department of Health. https://www.floridahealth.gov/

Jackson, PL, Vessey, JA (2000). Primary care of the child with a chronic condition. 3rd edition Mosby Publishing Co. Chapter 1.

Newachek, PW, Halton, N. (1998). Prevalence and impact of disabling conditions in Childhood. American Journal of Public Health 88 (4). 610-617.

Olshansky, S. (1962). Chronic sorrow: A response to having a mentally defective child. Social Casework. 43, 190-193.

Sandall, S., McLean, M.E., Smith, B.J. (Eds.) (2000). DEC Recommended practices in early intervention/early childhood special education. Denver, CO: Division of Early Childhood.

Scott, J. U. (2003 - 2004). Text files Pediatric health issues for birth to five: web-enhanced course for the ITDS at the University of South Florida: Grosz & Scott.

Sparrow, J., Associate Director of the Touchpoint Center. Emotional Development of Infants (Keynote Address). Early Childhood Conference at the Embassy Suites on the USF Campus, Sept. 17, 2004.

Ward, LP & McKune, SK (2002). The first weeks of life. In Batshaw's Children with Disabilities, 5th edition. Maryland: Paul H. Brookes. P 67-70, 72.

Websites

• Agency for Persons with Disabilities
• American Academy of Pediatrics - This is the home page for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• American Academy of Pediatricians - AAP Policy on Breastfeeding
• Bright Futures - A program of Georgetown University
• Centers for Disease Control - Provides statistics on birth and death rates, Healthy People 2010 and other health related initiatives.
• Childbirth Organization - This site provides information on the Apgar scale.
• Children's Medical Services Homepage - Children's Medical Services in the Department of Health is Florida's agency that serves children with special health care needs. The ITDS should be familiar with this homepage related to children with chronic health care needs so that information can be shared with the family. Early Steps in Florida is provided as a program of Children's Medical Services.
• Clinical Evidence - Provides articles related to clinical medical practice and gives an overview of what the editors who choose medical articles for this web site consider when making judgments of valid medical research to include on the web site.
• Early Steps - Early Steps is an early intervention program of supports and services provided to enhance the caregiver's capacity in the developmental care of the child.
• Family KidCare
• Florida Department of Health - website provides information on birth and death rates as well as information pertaining to prevention programs such as immunizations and other health issues relevant to the infant and toddler.
• Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics - provides expanded information on various categories of vital statistics. Learners will want to print the neonatal birth and death rates for Florida.
• Florida's Developmental Disabilities Council
• Florida KidCare - this site contains helpful information on health care resources that are available to families who lack insurance for their children.
• Florida KidCare (Spanish) - this site is written in Spanish and contains helpful information on health care resources that are available to families who lack insurance for their children.
• Florida's Healthy Start Program - Healthy Start is a program for pregnant women and for infants up to three years of age who have increased risk for medical or developmental problems.
• Immunization Schedule
• MediKids
• Kids Count – Kid Count from the Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Kids Health – A large bank of health related resource articles that are specifically written either for parents, teens, or children.
• La Leche League – Provides information on breastfeeding
• Maternal Child Health Library
• Mental Health – Provides information related to mental health
• SIDS Organization – All the SIDS web pages provide information related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
• SIDS Alliance
• SIDS Center

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