Special Considerations for Pain in Children and Youth with Severe Neurological Impairment
Learning Objectives
- Define and learn approach to assessment of pain/distress/neuro-irritability in children who have severe neurological impairment and communication impairments (intellectual and/or motor disabilities)
- Understand when and how to use a few reliable and individualized pain assessment tools for nonverbal children
Alvin Loh, MD, FRCPC Medical Chief of Staff at Surrey Place
Dr. Alvin Loh is the co-lead of the Behaviour Medical Assessment Clinic where he often sees youth with severe communication impairments and behaviours that challenge, and assesses them for physical health issues and pain. He is involved in the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program for Adults at Surrey Place. He is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at the University of Toronto, and teaches medical students, residents and practicing physicians, about communicating with and caring for people with IDD.
Resources Mentioned in Session
- Pain Assessment and Treatment in Children with Significant Impairment of the Central Nervous System
- The incidence of pain in children with severe cognitive impairments
- ‘Total Pain’ in Children with Severe Neurological Impairment
- The revised FLACC observational pain tool: improved reliability and validity for pain assessment in children with cognitive impairment
- Psychometric properties of the non-communicating children’s pain checklist-revised
- Improving comfort in children with severe neurological impairment
- Validation of the Individualized Numeric Rating Scale (INRS): a pain assessment tool for nonverbal children with intellectual disability
- Antecedent Behaviour Consequence (ABC) Data Sheet
- Functional Assessment Screening Tool (FAST)
- How to Use Irritability Strategies to Help Your Child with Autism
Session Materials
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