Pediatric Neurology

Children who may have an autistic spectrum disorder and/or serious communication disorder are routinely evaluated by a MedStar Health team of specialists. Communication skills, thinking skills, social interaction abilities, and sensory motor abilities are assessed with family encouraged to participate.

Learn more about the Autism and Communications Disorder Clinic

We take a team approach when it comes to providing complete care for your child. A range of pediatric experts from multiple specialty clinics come together to care for the complex, and often related, neurological issues that can affect kids. In addition to pediatric neurologists and neurosurgeons other pediatric providers include:

• Complex care physicians
• Orthopedists
• Physical therapists
• Pulmonologists
• Gastroenterologist
• Rehabilitation specialists including Occupational Therapists and Speech and Swallow Therapists
• Social workers

At MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, we are a Level 3 Pediatric Epilepsy Center as designated by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Whether your child has new-onset epilepsy or longstanding complex epilepsy, we will provide a comprehensive evaluation of your child’s unique clinical presentation.

To provide your child with the best care possible, we have a dedicated Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit to provide continuous video electroencephalogram (EEG) studies overnight and over multiple days to determine the best medical and surgical options to treat your child’s seizures. The unit is operated 24/7 by pediatric neurologists, pediatricians and nurses with epilepsy expertise. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive approach to optimizing your child’s quality of life and seizure control. 

Learn more about epilepsy services at MedStar Georgetown

The pediatric neurodevelopmental program provides regular follow-up services to children with developmental delay or born prematurely, including graduates of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our team includes a developmental pediatrician, clinical psychologist, and pediatric physical therapist. We evaluate children’s cognitive, language, motor, and socioemotional skills and provide written and verbal feedback and recommendations to families. In addition, our clinicians facilitate referrals to outside services as needed. Working closely with families and community providers, we work to ensure that all children are given the support they need to reach their full potential.

MedStar Health's Pediatric Sleep Disorders Program offers a pediatric-focused, multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders in children and adolescents. Our program includes a team of pediatric specialists in pulmonary medicine, neurology, otolaryngology, and psychology. This expert team evaluates children and teenagers with various sleep disorders and offers recommendations for medical, surgical, or behavioral treatment.

MedStar Health's sleep disorder center has been continuously accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine since 1985.

Learn More About the Pediatric Sleep disorder Clinic

Spasticity in children is a condition causing muscle tightness, contractions, or spasms. At MedStar Georgetown your child will receive care from a multidisciplinary team of experts. Collaboration ensures we develop a comprehensive treatment plan to address the needs of each child. 

Our team includes pediatric specialists and medical professionals in:

• Neurology
• Orthopedics
• Neurosurgery
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech and Language pathologists

We provide treatment for conditions that can cause spasticity, including:

• Cerebral palsy
• Stroke or Neonatal/Perinatal Hypoxic Injury
• Damage to the central nervous system
• Genetic conditions
• Spinal cord injury
• Traumatic brain injury

Treatment will depend on your child’s condition and the area of the body affected. To reduce pain and improve mobility, your child will benefit from advanced diagnostic tests and personalized surgical and nonsurgical treatments that may include:

• Botox injections
• Oral medications
• Orthopedic surgeries
• Physical therapy and Occupational Therapy
• Speech and Swallow interventions
• Serial casting

Resources:
Cerebral Palsy Foundation
American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine

MedStar Health’s Georgetown University Hospital is the only comprehensive stroke center in the Washington, D.C., area that provides specialized pediatric stroke care.

At the MedStar Health division of pediatric neurology, a team of pediatric neurologists is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our pediatric experts are skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric stroke and its multiple, underlying causes. The team includes experts in neurology; pediatric critical care; pediatric anesthesia; neurosurgery; pediatric hematology; pediatric nursing; pediatric neuroradiology; and physical, speech, and occupational therapists. 

The division of pediatric neurology offers stroke clinics and spasticity clinics in our Tenleytown location to facilitate follow-up care. 

Learn More About the MedStar Georgetown Comprehensive Stroke Center