Neurodevelopmental Disorders

We have great pleasure to present the latest extension of the European Institute of Health Care book series. This volume is devoted to neurodevelopmental d- orders. Again, we had the privilege to be able to work with reknowned experts who have agreed to contribute to this endeavour. The book comprises a number of topics related to psychosocial and motor development and is exemplary with regard to its comprehensiveness, as reviews of the topics presented are generally not available in a single publication. It starts with a timely and critical discussion of the genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by Dr. Buitelaar in which prospects and challenges of this approach are outlined. The next chapter by Drs. Nicolson and Fawcett deals with dyslexia and its relationship to cerebellar function providing a framework that can explain motor, speed, and phonological deficits in a unified approach. Diagnostic and treatment aspects of speech development disorders are the focus of Dr. Zorowka's contribution in which, among other issues, the necessity of mul- professional cooperation is stressed. Dr. Sigmundsson then focuses on disorders of motor development. 6-10 % of children have motor competence well below the norm, which often persist. The clumsy child syndrome must be seen and treated as a neurological dysfunction. The relationship between tic disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, two disturbances generally treated by different medical specialists, namely neurologists or psychiatrists, is then reviewed by Drs.

ADHD: strategies to unravel its genetic architecture.- Developmental dyslexia, learning and the cerebellum.- Disorders of speech development: diagnostic and treatment aspects.- Disorders of motor development (clumsy child syndrome).- Tic disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder: where is the link?.- The effectiveness of interventions for children with autism.- Schizophrenia and related disorders in children and adolescents.