WHAT WE DO
We find answers to unresolved questions using the innovation of precision medicine to positively impact the everyday life of children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.
What are neurodevelopmental disorders?
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are conditions including intellectual disability, autism, and ADHD that begin in early childhood and that affect a person’s developing brain. The range of strengths and challenges that individuals with NDDs have vary widely.
What are behaviours of concern?
Behaviours of concern are behaviours that make it hard for a person to participate in activities like attending school or participating in their community, like violence towards themselves or others. Children and youth with NDDs often have behaviours of concern. The reasons for these behaviours can be hard to understand, usually need a specialized doctor to help treat, and can lead to many problems for the young people and their families.
What is precision medicine?
Precision medicine, often also referred to as precision health, is an innovative approach to understanding human health and disease using data from multiple sources, such as information about medical diagnoses, biologic investigations including laboratory studies and imaging, and other environmental, demographic, and lifestyle factors. Precision medicine can be applied to a group of people, such as trying to understand why some children with NDDs have behaviours of concern, or to a specific individual, such as what treatment would be best for a specific child who has an NDD and behaviours of concern. The Precision Neurodevelopment Lab uses both types of approaches to help children with NDDs and their families.