The American Board of Childhood Developmental Disorders®

The American Board of Childhood Developmental Disorders® (or ABCDD) is a neurological specialty certification in the assessment and treatment of neurological development in pediatric patients. The ABCDD is a sub-agency of the American College of Functional Neurology® (ACFN), a non-profit certification organization dedicated to serving and protecting its stakeholders, which consist of the public and its healthcare members, by certifying excellence in practice. The ABCDD administers certification examinations and maintains certification renewal processes. The ABCDD issues a Certificate of Qualification and a Fellowship in Childhood Developmental Disorders, indicated by the credentials CABCDD® and FABCDD® respectively.

Fellowship Credentials – FABCDD®:

Both FABCDD® and the term Fellow of the American Board of Brain Injury and Rehabilitation are federally protected and trademarked terms to describe the highest level of certification by the ABCDD.

Fellows must be a licensed health care primary care provider or profession in a healthcare professional field (MD, DO, DC, DPT, ND, PhD, etc), that has completed a minimum of 350 credit hours of training in childhood developmental disorders in an ACFN approved educational program. Fellows must also have completed a minimum of 2 years of clinical experience in the field of neurology and pediatric neurology and have successfully passed an ACFN administered, approved, and psychometrically-validated board examination.

The ABCDD requires that throughout the initial certification and maintenance of certification processes, fellows must have a valid, unexpired, and unencumbered license to practice a primary care discipline in their jurisdiction. Should the provider have a lapse of their license to practice, or have it encumbered for any reason, it is the provider’s responsibility to report that information to the ACFN. Failure to report license expiration or encumbrance may result in removal from the registry and/or denial for renewal of credentials.

Certificate of Qualification – CABCDD®

CABCDD®: Certificate-Holder of the American Board of Childhood Developmental Disorders® are federally protected and trademarked terms to describe an individual that has met the criteria set forth by the ACFN and the ABCDD to hold a certificate of qualification.

Certificate of Qualification holders must have completed a minimum of 150 hours in childhood developmental disorders, have successfully passed an ACFN administered, approved, and psychometrically-validated board examination, but do not meet all of the criteria set forth by the ACFN to be a FABCDD. Often these individuals are assistants to health care providers, or practice in a discipline that is not eligible for a Fellowship per the ACFN bylaws, such as Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Social Workers, Case Managers, etc.

Recertification Process:

The ACFN and ABCDD demand a recertification process that is necessary to maintain the Certificate of Qualification and Fellowship Status with the Registry. Registry members must pay a registration and examination fee, and re-certify by July 1 of odd number years with a demonstration of competency including a minimum of 25 hours of continuing education in a board-approved educational program; submitting an annotated bibliography of 6 peer-reviewed and published articles pertaining to pediatric development and/or pediatric neurological disorders. The article must have been published in the biennium period prior to the renewal period; paying recertification dues, and completing a job-analysis survey. Fellows must also recertify by examination every 10 years.

 

The American College of Functional Neurology®, American Board of Childhood Developmental Disorders®, FABCDD®, CABCDD® are actively used and registered trademarks of the American College of Functional Neurology, Inc.