Read about this clinical area and download the syllabi for both sub-specialty and for generic specialty training.
Introduction to this sub-specialty
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 (eg attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism), and neurorehabilitation, and they often subspecialise in one or more of these areas.
Training in this sub-specialty
In summer 2023, we launched RCPCH Progress+, our updated, two-level paediatric training programme in the UK.
Paediatricians start in core training, and then move on to specialty training - when some choose to apply to train in a paediatric sub-specialty, such as paediatric neurodisability.
The Progress+ curriculum provides a framework for paediatric training, and outlines the Learning Outcomes and Key Capabilities required at each stage before attaining the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT).
The RCPCH Progress+ syllabi support the curriculum with further guidance on how the Learning Outcomes can be achieved and demonstrated, with sub-specialty Learning Outcomes. You can download the Progress+ syllabi for this sub-specialty and for specialty training (generic) below.
Trainees due to CCT by September 2024 continue to use the Progress curriculum and syllabi; you can also download the the Progress syllabi below.