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Mother/Infant Communication Screening (MICS)
Catherine B. Raack (1989). Mother/Infant Communication Screening (MICS). Roselle, IL: Community Therapy Services.
Summary
MICS is a screening tool. It is meant to indicate if a mother-infant dyad may be at risk for a threatening disorder of mother-infant communication. MICS is not designed as an assessment. Disorders of communication may threaten the development of the infant; adversely affect the mother's capacity to fulfill the maternal role; or drastically impair the synchronous nature of mother-infant communication, hence perpetuating the disorder.
MICS screening may be administered on any mother-infant dyad as long as only the mother and the infant are present and the infant is one year old or less. Other siblings may be present, but the tool should not be administered if the father is present. The dyad is being screened, not just the mother or just the infant. The related variables or the cause of a dyad's difficulties may or may not be evident to the interviewer, but they are not the focus of the screening.
Five areas of dyad behavior are observed during the interview: language and synchrony, distress, feeding, play or neutral state, and rest. An average score is calculated, and a score of 3 or below indicates need for further assessment.
Availability Information
Catherine B. Raack, M.A.
Community Therapy Services
130 East Elm Street, Suite 106
Roselle, IL 60172
Phone: 1-630-893-7995
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign