Training in Paediatric Neurodisability

A neurodisability paediatrician is a clinician who specialises in the management of children and young people with disabilities resulting from congenital or acquired long-term conditions. 

These problems are generally due to impairment in the nervous or musculoskeletal systems and can be static or progressive in nature.

Although they are involved in the diagnosing, the neurodisability paediatrician’s emphasis is in managing the complex comorbidities seen, targeting the patients’ rehabilitation and enablement. While working closely with local teams in the hospital and community (such as genetics, neurology, community paediatrics, surgical specialties and palliative care, as well as NGO's and education and social services), they often provide specialist regional advice in a model of shared care.

At a tertiary level, neurodisability paediatricians have developed specialist skills within the neurosciences. This includes in the assessment of motor and neurobehavioural disorders (e.g. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism), and neurorehabilitation, and they often subspecialise in one or more of these areas.

There are a number of overlaps with community child health, paediatric neurology, and general paediatrics with a special interest in medical complexity; the following table highlights the difference between some of these specialties. Please view this comparison table to see the main similarities and differences between these specialties.