First 5 Humboldt is now offering the Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO) in Playgroups, through our Road to Resilience Program, and will soon be offering it through a partnership with Open Door Community Health Clinics. Family Support Navigator, Jennifer Gonzales, is engaging Playgroup families with the tool similar to the “pop-up” style Navigators have been sharing with the Ages & Stages Questionnaire. Program Coordinator Ashley Hilliard and Family Support Navigator Melissa Goldman are also trained in NBO. Ashley will be using the tool in her work with the Road to Resilience navigators in our partnership with United Indian Health Services. Melissa will be working with Open Door to offer NBO to families through their Rural County Opioid Response program.
The Newborn Behavioral Observation or NBO is a relationship-based tool that highlights the “serve and return” dance between newborn and caregiver. It describes an infant’s capacities in such a way that caregivers can begin to see their baby as a person, better appreciate their unique competencies and vulnerabilities, and learn to understand and respond in a way that meets the unique developmental needs of their baby.
The tool is designed for use with infants from birth through three months of age. It looks at 18 neurobehavioral observations and draws the caregiver’s attention to the wide range of visual, auditory, and perceptual abilities infants exhibit when they engage.