The textbook entitled Support for the development of the young child - an interdisciplinary approach has been approved by the Publishing College of the State Medical Publishing Institute (PZWL) and included in the publishing plan for 2024.
The scientific editor of the book is Professor Ilona Kopyta, MD, PhD, from the Department of Child Neurology at the SUM, while the authors of the individual chapters are researchers from the Faculty of Pedagogy and Art at the University of Silesia in Katowice and the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice.
- The development of a young child, from birth to the age of expected school readiness, is a period of extremely dynamic and complex processes. Both normal development and developmental disorders are areas for which it is necessary to develop a tool that both illustrates all aspects of the issue and is simple and practical for those using it from different disciplines, explains Prof Kopyta.
The handbook will take into account the latest data resulting from research on child development and its disorders. Each of the issues will be developed in a multidisciplinary team, as only such an approach allows for proper presentation of this complex subject. Complementing the content of the book will be a 'Developmental Ribbon', the author's graphic representation of the issues discussed.
- The first chapters of the book will be a description of the normal development of the child in the intervals of adequate health balances carried out in the Primary Health Care setting. Such a presentation by specialists in physiotherapy, psychology, pedagogy and paediatric medicine will provide comprehensive assistance to primary care physicians carrying out developmental assessments of young children, adds Prof. Kopyta.
Particular attention will be paid to children born prematurely, as prematurity is an important risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, in the motor sense (e.g. cerebral palsy) and other aspects such as concentration disorders, hyperactivity or sensory integration disorders.
One chapter will deal with legal issues, in which those pieces of legislation that offer various possibilities for helping a child with a developmental problem will be identified and discussed, and a separate chapter will present the institutions that are involved in providing assistance to a child with a developmental problem, together with an indication of the role of professionals at various points in the provision of this assistance and developmental support.
The handbook will also discuss the extremely important issues of communication with parents in a difficult situation related to their child's illness, especially in communicating unfavourable diagnoses concerning the child's development.
The recipients of the handbook will be all specialists dealing with the problems of the development of a young child, both primary and specialist care physicians, and in turn: pedagogues, psychologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists.
- The uniqueness of this position lies in its multifaceted approach to the problem, and therefore fits in with the idea of interprofessional and interdisciplinary collaboration. This is particularly worth emphasising in connection with the celebrations related to the awarding Katowice the title of European City of Science 2024 and the ongoing activities of Silesian universities gathered in the Academic Consortium Katowice - City of Science, concludes Prof. Kopyta.
