Preface

A large and growing proportion of outpatient (ambulatory, community) general paediatric service workload is now in the clinical area of developmental and behavioural paediatrics. How services are triaged and managed varies by country and system. However the increasing demand for medical services to address child problems of development and behaviour seems to be a universal phenomenon. The focus of this book is on child behaviour, what children do and say. It is clearly linked to development, mental health, general health, expectations, life circumstances, past experiences, and many other influences. Behaviour may be a problem in its own right (e.g. the child who self-harms or is aggressive to others), or may be the presentation of an underlying problem (bullying at school, abuse, learning difficulties). Often it is both. As indicated in the book’s title, we focus on behaviour problems in children who have developmental disorders, whether suspected, presumed, or diagnosed. It is generally concern about health and development that brings a child into paediatric care. As problems of behaviour are common in this group of children, the focus of paediatric care often extends beyond child health and development to include problematic behaviour.