Prechtl's Method on the Qualitative Assessment of General Movements in Preterm, Term and Young Infants

Book excerpt: A quick, non-invasive, non-intrusive and cost-effective method with high reliability and high validity is much in demand for the early detection of neurological anomalies which point to cerebral palsy and developmental deficits later on in life. Over his years as a distinguished developmental neurologist, Heinz Prechtl has devised such a method; a qualitative assessment of general movements (GMs) as a specific predictor for neurological impairments. His method is described in this book. GMs form part of a distinct pattern of movements in preterm babies, term newborns and young infants. They are complex, frequent, and usually of sufficient length. Changes in the normal quality of GMs are a reliable indicator of brain dysfunction. Includes a CD-ROM giving 15 cases selected from the book. Each is of about one minute in duration and demonstrates the different age-specific movement patterns.