This focused issue on “Neurodevelopmental and Neurobehavioral Disorders in Children” is edited by:
Dilip R. Patel, MD, MBA, MPH, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI, USA; and
Joav Merrick, MD, MMedSci, DMSc, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
During the developmental period from infancy through adolescence, neurodevelopment and behavior are intricately related. The terms neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral disorders are used interchangeably to describe a group of disorders with certain basic characteristics that overlap between different disorders. Neurodevelopmental disorders (or disabilities) have their onset during the developmental period and persist over a person’s lifespan. Intellectual disabilities (also referred to as intellectual developmental disorder), various communication disorders affecting speech and language, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, developmental learning disorders, and motor disorders such as developmental coordination disorder and tic disorders are major neurodevelopmental disorders. Some experts use the term neurodevelopmental disabilities “to define chronic disorders that affect central nervous system function during the developmental period in the domains of motor skills, cognition, communication and/or behavior”.