Interdisciplinary assessment.

ABSTRACT

Interdisciplinary assessment (IA) is defined as the integration of clinical contributions by healthcare professionals from distinct disciplines into a comprehensive diagnostic and prognostic evaluation. This process requires the professionals to independently and simultaneously consider and gage clinical information collected via a variety of methods and from a variety of informants. A shared perception of the clinical situation is progressively achieved via team meetings. IA helps clinicians to overcome the many challenges posed in today's context for assessment and treatment planning in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders. Most national and international guidelines recommend the inclusion of IA in the diagnostic workup for complex cases (e.g., autism spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Hence, IA should always be part of the neurodevelopmental disorder diagnostic process in children in general and preterm infants in particular.