Pediatric Movement Disorders Fellowship

The mission of our Pediatric Movement Disorders Fellowship training program is to train pediatric neurologists to become experts in the growing field of movement disorders in children and adolescents, guided by our program faculty. We offer one year or two year combined clinical and research fellowships, providing in-depth clinical training in every major movement disorder, including but not limited to spasticity, dystonia, tics, ataxia, chorea, athetosis, paroxysmal dyskinesias, myoclonus, parkinsonism, tremor and gait disorders. Fellows will learn to take movement disorder-specific histories and develop advanced examination techniques. They will learn to distinguish phenomenology based on both physical examination and video review and to use electrophysiology and motion analysis as adjunctive aids in distinguishing movement disorder classes.

Integrated care delivery is an important part of pediatric movement disorder practice. The successful applicant will receive trans-disciplinary training, seeing patients in our Cerebral Palsy Clinic and our Tourette Association of America Center of Excellence. They will receive instruction in pediatric neuroradiology to recognize important neuroimaging signatures of childhood movement disorders and to effectively utilize advanced neuroimaging techniques. They will receive instruction in screening, pre-surgical evaluation and postsurgical care of children and adolescents for whom selective dorsal rhizotomy, intrathecal baclofen pump placement, deep brain stimulation and orthopedic surgical interventions are being considered. The fellow will be trained in botulinum toxin injection, use of orthoses and durable medical equipment and programming of intrathecal baclofen pumps and deep brain stimulators.

Our program is truly multidisciplinary, with faculty drawn from adult movement disorders, functional and stereotactic neurosurgery, pediatric neurosurgery, pediatric psychiatry, pediatric orthopedics, pediatric rehabilitation, pediatric neuroradiology, biomedical engineering, pediatric psychology, neuroscience, genomics and molecular & cellular biology.

We enjoy a national and international referral base. A particular strength of the program is the emphasis on neurogenetics in both clinical care and research. Program Director Michael Kruer, MD serves as lead investigator for the NIH-funded Genetic Causes of Cerebral Palsy study, providing ample opportunities for research. We are one of few centers in the US with an active clinical and research program in pediatric deep brain stimulation. In collaboration with the International Pediatric Deep Brain Stimulation Registry, we are studying DBS outcomes in genetic dystonias. We have a busy Motion Analysis Laboratory that facilitates both clinical and research studies. Phoenix Children’s is a member of the Cerebral Palsy Research Network, working collaboratively to develop gold standards for cerebral palsy care. We participate in the International Working Group on Neurotransmitter Related Disorders. A key aspect of our program is community engagement at the local, national and international levels.