A Clinical Handbook on Child Development Paediatrics

A Clinical Handbook on Child Development Paediatrics
By Sandra Johnson
Churchill Livingstone, RRP $89.95, pp320, ISBN 978-0-7295-4089-6

Review by Dr Christopher Mulligan*

“Is my child normal?”

Spoken or subconscious, this one of the most common questions of all new parents. For most, the answer is yes, and that question is based on nothing more than that universal parental concern for their child to live a long, happy and healthy life.

But for others, the answer is unfortunately, no. For those kids who fall outside the scope of what society, and the medical profession, have deemed ‘normal development’, the consequences can be profound and lifelong.

Defining ‘normal’ is Dr Sandra Johnson’s first task in her book Child Development Paediatrics, which deals with a multitude of different childhood developmental disorders. Aimed at paediatricians, paediatric registrars and general practitioners who care for children with developmental problems, Dr Johnson hopes to create a quick-reference guide to the broad field of developmental paediatrics.

The discipline covers areas from hearing and visual disorders, intellectual and learning disabilities, psychiatric and motor skill problems and many others. Her book is presented as a collection of these topics from specialist contributors, with each chapter providing an overview of a particular condition, as well as an approach to assessment and management. For any practicing clinician, the sections on some of the legal aspects of medicine and child protection are also interesting and important additions to the text.

Dr Johnson does well to cover a such wide range of pertinent fields relating to developmental paediatrics, from ophthalmology and ear, nose and throat to psychiatry and orthopaedics, but the reader is still left with the sense that in trying to cover as many relevant fields as possible, some of the depth in each of these areas is lost. Much of her information is presented in dot-point summaries and break-out boxes.

However, the book is clearly designed as a quick-reference guide rather than a definitive textbook, and has comprehensive reading lists and references for those wanting to delve a bit deeper.

Paediatrics, much like the rest of medicine in the twenty first century, is becoming more and more specialised and sub-specialised. However, Dr Johnson doesn’t lose track of the ‘big picture’. Despite being an inherently multi-disciplinary field, her approach remains very child-centred, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to developmental problems, with good continuity of care navigating through the myriad of different specialists and institutions. Given the complex and chronic nature of many of these conditions, it is only fitting that the book has a strong focus on community practice, rather than acute hospital-based medicine. 

The book assumes at least a modicum of experience in clinical paediatrics and, as such, might be less appealing to a casual reader or medical student. But for those who work with children with developmental problems, and their families, Childhood Development Paediatrics is a useful and relevant book for clinical practice.

* Chris Mulligan is a Resident Medical Officer in New South Wales