Assessment of sensory, emotional, and attentional problems in regulatory disordered infants

Recently clinicians and researchers have directed attention to a group of infants described as “regulatory disordered,” but more commonly characterized as “fussy” or “difficult” infants. Regulatory disordered infants typically display difficulties in sensory processing, attentional skills, and emotion regulation and have been found to develop later perceptual, language, sensory integration, and emotional problems in the preschool years. Traditional models of assessment often are not sensitive enough to identify infants with regulatory disorders; therefore, an expanded model of evaluation is proposed that assesses both parent and child characteristics. The symptomatology of regulatory disordered infants is described, and a model of neurobehavioral organization is proposed that may be useful in differential diagnosis of the various types of regulatory disorders.