Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Why study neurodevelopmental disorders?

More than 300,000 children and youth in Ontario are living with autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disorders and conditions.

The symptoms of these conditions – social difficulties, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, compulsivity, impulsivity, and a host of other associated symptoms – often place emotional and other costs on children and their families, and more importantly make it harder for children and youth to live a good life the way they define it. The costs to society include lost productivity and potential, plus life-time bills to the medical system. There are few medications to treat these disorders, and those that exist are only partially effective.

Why study different neurodevelopmental disorders together?

Neurodevelopmental disorders are not clear-cut nor easy to segregate. There is often considerable variability in how these disorders are expressed and most of the time individuals have more than one condition.

POND Network: Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network

  • The POND Network aims to understand the unique and common biology across neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, and intellectual disability as well as a variety of genetic syndromes that affect development such as Rett syndrome, Down syndrome, and Fragile X syndrome. POND is leading international efforts that have fundamentally changed the approach to diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders and conditions. Their clinical trials network is a first in Canada and is speeding up the development of effective medications and psychosocial interventions for patients and families.


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  • POND Network – Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network

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In Their Own Words: Youth Digital Stories

In this project, youth with neurodevelopmental disorders combined art, photos and their voices to tell stories about their experiences when it comes to their mental health. Through digital stories, they highlighted both challenges and triumphs about mental health, gaps in the healthcare system, and provided tips on how care providers should talk to them about their mental health. Participants said that they hoped care providers would use the tips from their digital stories to provide meaningful support to youth in times of need.

Pathway to provide better treatment for kids

Results from a recent study led by the POND network add more support for embedding patients and families perspectives early on in the design and conduct of research. Input from POND’s patient partners and biological observations from researchers converged on the idea that there are likely more commonalities between neurodevelopmental disorders than the diagnostic labels currently suggest. The results of this work tell us that we need to consider the unique strengths and needs of each child, beyond broad diagnostic labels.

The Impact of Our Work

In Their Own Words: Youth Digital Stories

In this project, youth with neurodevelopmental disorders combined art, photos and their voices to tell stories about their experiences when it comes to their mental health. Through digital stories, they highlighted both challenges and triumphs about mental health, gaps in the healthcare system, and provided tips on how care providers should talk to them about their mental health. Participants said that they hoped care providers would use the tips from their digital stories to provide meaningful support to youth in times of need.