Right-Sizing Healthcare for Children Living with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: The Pediatric Interdisciplinary Neurodevelopmental Clinic (PINC)

This concurrent session will present recent clinical innovations in a school-age neurodevelopmental assessment service for children, youth and families experiencing disability called the Pediatric Interdisciplinary Neurodevelopmental Clinic (PINC). Informed by 2.5 years of local and national engagement involving community- and hospital- based clinicians, families, service providers and policy makers, this new clinical model is challenging the discourse on disability. It is shifting traditional concepts of service provision from those based on categorical developmental diagnoses and traditional disease-models to individualizing services and care based on strengths, goals, abilities and functioning of children and youth within their family, community and historical contexts. These clinic-level changes are inspiring broader dialogues about inclusion, accessibility and strategies to advance the integration of systems for improved efficiency, more effective service delivery and better health and developmental outcomes for all children and youth in all of the places that they live, work and play.

The presenters will share their experiences through the lenses of a clinical neuropsychologist, a clinic manager, and as a clinical and academic developmental pediatrician. The speakers acknowledge the limitations of their perspectives as people who do not have lived experience with disability. They also acknowledge their gratitude to the many children, youth and families who do experience disability in our existing systems who have partnered with our team on this journey and centrally informed this work.