The Walmart Foundation has awarded the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) a grant for the purpose of improving the quality of medical care delivered to adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and intellectual disabilities (fka mental retardation).

The two hundred thousand dollar grant was awarded to create a standardized curriculum and certification process that will enhance the clinical skills of physicians in caring for the more than 10,000,000 Americans with neurodevelopmental disorders.  Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of medical conditions that adversely effect the development of the brain and nervous system, and include: Autism, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, fetal alcohol syndrome and hundreds of other conditions which can result in intellectual or developmental disability.

Until recent decades, most children with neurodevelopmental disorders did not live long into adulthood.  Consequently, the medical profession did not focus on training physicians to care for adults with these conditions.  Today however, for the first time in human history, there are more adults with these conditions than there are children.  Unfortunately, for these adults there are very few medical professionals with the training or experience to provide appropriate primary care.  This has led to well-recognized disparities in healthcare access and poor health outcomes when compared to the general population.  The AADMD believes that better training of physicians will help address these disparities.

The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry is a national professional association formed to improve the health outcomes of people with neurodevelopmental disorders and intellectual disabilities, through patient care, teaching, research, and advocacy.  The President of the AADMD, Dr. Seth Keller, a neurologist, reflected on the grant, "This will allow us to impact on the skills, confidence and knowledge that physicians need in order to treat patients with developmental disabilities. We greatly appreciate the support of the Walmart Foundation to facilitate this long overdue initiative."

For further information about the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) contact Dr. Matt Holder, MD, MBA, Executive Director of the AADMD at mattholder@aadmd.org or telephone 602-625-3805.