Dr. Yvette Blanchard completed her undergraduate education and her Masters degree at the Université de Montréal (1982, 1988) and received her Doctorate degree from Boston University (1995). She is currently Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Hartford where she teaches courses in scientific inquiry and pediatric physical therapy. Dr. Blanchard conducted her doctoral work at the Child Development Unit where she studied the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on neurobehavioral functioning. It is while at the CDU that she trained and certified on the NBAS and later became the lead NBAS trainer for the Brazelton Institute. With her colleagues from the Brazelton Institute, she has developed the Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO) instrument and has co-authored "Understanding Newborn Behavior and Early Relationships: The Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO) System Handbook" published by Brookes. Her specific contribution to this work has been in the development of the NBO system for use with high-risk infants and their families with a focus on assisting the work of early intervention providers. She developed the high-risk infant model and training curriculum which is in use at the Brazelton Institute and described in the NBO handbook. Dr. Blanchard is also an early intervention provider for the East Hartford Birth to Three Program in Connecticut servicing a population of high-risk infants and their families. Dr. Blanchard has worked extensively with high-risk infants in different settings and has published over numerous article and book chapters relating to the field of pediatric physical therapy and early intervention with high-risk infants.
