Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Diagnosis and Treatment of a Child with a Complex Movement Disorder

We report on the intensive collaboration in the diagnosis and treatment of a 7-year-old boy with multiple movement disorders, high impulsivity, and affect dysregulation. The interdisciplinary exchange about different qualities of the facial and leg-stressed symptoms, the extremely heterogeneous intelligence profile, the marked hyperactivity, and the alternating aggressive and anxious-depressive mood, which could not be clearly assigned to all disciplines involved, led to the hypothesis of an ADCY5-associated movement disorder, which has been confirmed by molecular genetics. For the treatment, which is now based on hypotheses, close cooperation between the disciplines was required when recording the effects of drug therapy in everyday life and supporting the child and family in the adaptation process.

The case report illustrates the importance of the interdisciplinary cooperation of child and adolescent psychotherapy, psychiatry, neuropsychology and neuropediatrics in the differential diagnostic classification and long-term treatment of complex symptom constellations and discusses the opportunities and limitations of the respective treatment approaches.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
28 October 2021