Developmental Pediatrics

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The Child Development Center is a core area of pediatrics . The term developmental pediatrics is mostly used in Switzerland . Developmental pediatrics largely corresponds to social pediatrics in Germany . Developmental pediatrics is one of the main areas of pediatric and adolescent medicine recognized by the Association of Swiss Doctors .

definition

Developmental pediatrics is concerned with the development and behavior of healthy and sick children from infancy through adolescence . For paediatricians in practice and in clinics, developmental pediatric knowledge is a necessary prerequisite for developmentally appropriate care for children and adolescents. Developmental paediatrics differentiates children and adolescents medicine from adult medicine.

history

The term developmental pediatrics originally comes from the USA and was introduced around 1920 by the pediatrician and developmental psychologist Arnold Gesell (1880–1961). His research at Yale University focused on normal and abnormal child development. In 1982 the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics was founded as a specialist pediatric society. Developmental and behavioral paediatrics is an autonomous field of pediatric medicine in the USA and is represented at all major children's hospitals.

The beginnings of developmental pediatrics in Switzerland go back to the 1950s, when the Zurich longitudinal studies on child development were initiated by Andrea Prader and Guido Fanconi at the Children's Hospital Zurich . Since 1954, these studies have examined the development of more than 1000 children from birth to adulthood. In the mid-1970s, Remo H. Largo took over the management of what was then the growth and development department of the Zurich Children's Hospital (today the developmental pediatrics department). The Zurich longitudinal studies have a great international impact and are among the most comprehensive studies on child development. From these studies, long-term nationwide studies on the developmental course of children with developmental risks emerged. Developmental paediatrics has established itself in Switzerland as an autonomous specialist area within child and adolescent medicine since 1990 . In 2003 a developmental pediatric society was founded (Swiss Society for Developmental Pediatrics SGEP).

tasks

The disorders that developmental pediatrics are addressing include the following spectrum:

  • Developmental disorders in specific genetic (e.g. trisomy 21 , fragile X syndrome ) or neurological diseases (e.g. neurometabolic diseases, epilepsy or cerebral palsy ).
  • Behavioral developmental syndromes and behavioral disorders (e.g. autism , spectrum disorders, attention-hyperactivity disorder ADHD , regulatory disorders in infancy, sleep disorders , feeding disorders).
  • Disorders of the sensory organs (e.g. hearing or vision disorders, perception disorders)
  • Partial performance disorders (motor development disorders) or learning disorders (e.g. reading and spelling disorder, arithmetic disorder).
  • Development risks (e.g. after premature birth).

There is a need for research into development risks that are caused or influenced by biographical factors (e.g. separation of parents) or by the social environment.

Intersections with other subject areas

Developmental pediatrics interfaces with other medical ( e.g. genetics , endocrinology , metabolic medicine , neuropediatrics or child and adolescent psychiatry ) and non-medical fields ( e.g. neuropsychology , developmental psychology , curative and special education , speech therapy , psychomotor or occupational therapy ).

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