Children with Disabilities Can Grow, Thrive, and Be Part of their Communities: Expert Perspective

Renowned pediatric rehabilitation physician Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, highlights the scope of the specialty and its core objectives.

The goal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine is to optimize the health, functioning, and wellbeing of children with disabilities, whether the origins are genetic, traumatic, or developmental. Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, described the scope of the specialty in a recent interview with Patient Care®, emphasizing that while most times the children she sees will have the disability for life, "that doesn't mean they can't thrive and grow and have great lives, participating in their community as they desire."

Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, is chief of pediatric rehabilitation medicine at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; endowed professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and secretary of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.