Special Issue "Child Neuropsychiatry"

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Child Neurology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Stefano Pallanti
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Istituto di Neuroscienze (IN-CNR), Via Lamarmora 24, Florence, Italy
Interests: neurodevelopmental disorders; autism spectrum disorders; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); neuroimmunology; Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS); obsessive-compulsive and related disorders; depressive and bipolar disorders; substance and behavioral addictions; anxiety; schizophrenia; neuromodulation in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) comprise a group of complex and heterogeneous disorders that affect the growth and development of the brain and are often associated with impairments in cognitive and motor functions, communication, and adaptive behavior.

Multiple risk factors have been associated with NDDs, including genetic, environmental, infectious, and even traumatic factors, with evidence supporting the possibility of an interaction with each other.

NDDs are a public health challenge not only because of the complexity and heterogeneity of the etiology along with their high prevalence, but also because they show a high comorbidity with other neuropsychiatric conditions. Indeed, the co-existence of other disorders—including obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) or Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and sharing of symptoms across disorders (sometimes referred to as comorbidity) is the rule rather than the exception in child psychiatry. Inadequate knowledge of their clinical presentation can lead to a misdiagnosis and therefore an inappropriate treatment approach.

For this Special Issue, entitled “Child Neuropsychiatry”, we welcome papers that will provide researchers and clinicians with the most up-to-date information on the etiopathogenesis of these disorders and therapeutic strategies for patients as well as examine both the specificities within these disorders and their common transdiagnostic mechanisms to help redefine their limits, propose new treatments, identify therapeutic targets, and assess treatment efficacy.

Prof. Dr. Stefano Pallanti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • child
  • adolescent
  • neurodevelopmental disorders
  • impulsivity
  • inattention
  • comorbid disorders
  • diagnosis
  • treatment approaches
  • management approaches
  • neuromodulation.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
Early Intervention in Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: Let’s Listen to the Families! What Are Their Desires and Perspectives? A Preliminary Family-Researcher Co-Design Study
Children 2021, 8(9), 750; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8090750 - 30 Aug 2021
Viewed by 235
Abstract
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a clinical diagnosis based on a combination of clinical and neurological signs, which occurs between the ages of 12 and 24 months. Cerebral palsy or a high risk of cerebral palsy can be accurately predicted before 5–6 months, which [...] Read more.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a clinical diagnosis based on a combination of clinical and neurological signs, which occurs between the ages of 12 and 24 months. Cerebral palsy or a high risk of cerebral palsy can be accurately predicted before 5–6 months, which is the corrected age. This would allow the initiation of intervention at an early stage. Parents must be more involved in the development and implementation of the early therapy, increasing opportunities for parent–child interaction. The aim of this study was to learn from the perspectives of families with children under 12 months with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP), what ingredients (barriers and facilitators) should be involved in early intervention so that we could co-design (researchers and families) a multidisciplinary guideline for a global intervention addressed to the needs of the child and the family. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at a time and venue convenient for the families. A total of ten families with experience in early intervention were invited to attend the interview with open questions: (1) What components should early intervention have for a baby diagnosed with UCP? (2) What components should early intervention have for the family? (3) What should the involvement of the family be in early intervention? (4) What barriers included in early intervention should be removed? From the data analysis, three key topics emerged and were subsequently named by focus group participants: (1) UCP early intervention components, (2) family involvement in early intervention of UCP, and (3) removing barriers and creating facilitators within early intervention. The participation of the families (mothers) in the co-design of the necessary ingredients within the scope of a multidisciplinary early intervention guide aimed at children with UCP under 12 months allows learning about their reality and not that of the therapist. The following list highlights the present barriers as perceived by the parents: intervention as spectators, therapeutic goals, clinic environment, and lack of empathy, and the possible facilitators determined by the parents during the implementation comprised teamwork, the family’s goals, motivation during the intervention, and learning at home. Thus, an early intervention program to improve global functionality should address family involvement through multidisciplinary coaching and the modification of the environment, encouraging family goals and family support through the family–therapist team. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Neuropsychiatry)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop