Societal Integrative Approaches to Care for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

We hope to bring some attention to child and adolescent mental health with the help of this Special Issue in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health with the title Societal Integrative Approaches to Care for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders."

Improving care quality, accessibility, and efficacy for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) is a major challenge for health care, social services, education, municipalities, and society. As a significant number of children and adolescents live with NDD, their care’s success/impact will be measured not only at the individual but also at the societal level. 

The symptom build of NDD in individuals is characterized by profound heterogeneity, which presents different functional impairment levels and may be associated with different levels of quality of life. The concept of heterotypic continuity, that the same underlying difficulty can express itself differently, with different severity and at different points in an individual’s development, is a key component of care for children and adolescents with NDD. The etiological factors of NDD are part of a complex biopsychosocial matrix, encompassing multiple factors, such as inherited biological determinants and psychological, societal, and even cultural influences. Reflecting on the fact that the needs of children and adolescents with NDD are typically multivariate (i.e., they may need pharmacological or non-pharmacological, educational, psychotherapeutic, physiotherapeutic, and/or social support), health and community services for children and adolescents with NDD have to go beyond the medical perspective to meet the actual challenges to provide person-centered, holistic, and equal care and support to those in need.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect original, high-quality research papers, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses with rigorous study designs, theoretical models, and solid methodological frameworks, focusing on recent advances in care for children and adolescents with NDD. We particularly welcome multidisciplinary contributions and studies with clear implications for practice. Protocols and empirical studies including less than 10 participants will not be considered.

All submitted manuscripts will be processed through a peer-review process.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 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 2500 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.

• child and adolescent psychiatry
• educational support
• equity
• holistic
• integrative
• mental health
• neurodevelopmental disorders
• public health
• societal care