Paediatric neurorehabilitation refers to the group of actions that, both overall and across different disciplines, seek a response to the needs, temporary or permanent, arising from irregularities in development or deficiencies in early childhood.
The aim is to achieve the highest degree of autonomy for the child and enhance the development of his or her skills.
In this context, early intervention works as a ‘starting signal’ for children who are believed to be suffering from a disorder during their development or who belong to a high-risk group. The aim is to get a head start in the race to recover a pace of development that allows these children to lead well-rounded personal, family, and social lives.
The Paediatric Unit – Centre for Child Development and Early Intervention – is aimed at the child and youth population with or at risk of suffering complications in their development. The centres are located at the vithas Sevilla-Aljarafe, vithas Virgen del Consuelo, and vithas Aguas Vivas Hospitals.
The children we work with are those with the following conditions:
- Cerebral palsy (CP)
- Anoxia
- Premature birth
- Brain haemorrhage
- Tumour in the central nervous system
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
- Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Rare diseases
- Developmental disorders
- Neuromuscular disease. Includes myopathy, disorders of muscle tone (spasticity, hypotonia), and other motor disorders such as motor delays or difficulties in fine motor skills)
- Cognitive development disorder
- Sensory processing disorder
- Developmental language disorder
- Pervasive development disorder (PDD)
- Behavioural disorders
- Emotional disorders
At each point of a child’s development, there are certain areas where the patients have greater chances of improvement, and their treatment is therefore a priority. Building on this premise, the specific programmes aim to achieve notable improvement in one of these aspects while we monitor and treat the child with our multidisciplinary team of professionals.
The Specific Treatment Programmes are tailored treatments for children that combine all available resources (professional team and work tools) to achieve their goal.
To include a child in one of these programmes, the Paediatric Neurorehabilitation Unit (CDIAT) first performs an initial assessment, informing the family whether the programme would suit the patient and providing advice on the most efficient specific treatment plan.
We offer a broad range of specific programmes:
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia)
- Language impairments
- Speech disorders
- Reading and writing
- Hypersalivation (ptyalism/sialorrhea)
- Child dysphonia
- Oral language stimulation
- Attention
- Increase in autonomy in activities of daily living
- Social skills
- Assistance with sitting
- Assistance with standing
- Gait rehabilitation and training
- Functional improvement of the upper limb
- Congenital muscular torticollis
- Constraint-induced movement therapy (CI or CIMT)
- DIR model