Our Aims, Purpose and Values

The ASDP was established to address the isolated and fragmented services for children experiencing developmental paediatric disorders across Australasia.

By providing a focused collegiate environment for clinicians, ASDP aims to support ongoing improvements in the quality and consistency of both developmental paediatric practice and the expert advice available to governments and policy makers and others responsible for planning, organising and delivering services for children with developmental paediatric conditions.

The ASDP has no single diagnostic focus meaning it can provide impartial, consensus driven advice on the complex array of behaviours, assessments, diseases and interventions that can affect a child’s development.

Our Aims

We have two connected aims as a health promotion charity:

  1. That children with, or who are at risk of having, neurodevelopmental disorders will experience more successful childhoods and achieve their personal potential to become happy and contributing adult members of society.
  2. That doctors who care for these children and families will experience professional lives that are effective, sustainable and enjoyable.

Our Purpose

The Society pursues the following charitable purposes:

  1. To promote and support the development of excellence in the practice of developmental paediatrics
  2. To provide a collegiate and supportive structure for paediatricians and other medically trained professionals who work with children and families affected by neurodevelopmental and behavioural disorders, and share similar professional and related personal challenges
  3. To provide specialist representation on issues pertaining to the health and welfare of children with disorders impacting primarily on their development and behaviour.

Our Values

For children:

  1. We value the intrinsic uniqueness and worth of every child, regardless of their level of disability, behaviour or any other consideration.
  2. We recognise that neurodevelopmental disorders are medically based, and have a diverse impact on function, development, learning, behaviour, mental health, and the child's capacity to meet the range of age-based expectations across a variety of settings.
  3. We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to achieve their personal potential for a happy and fulfilling childhood and adult life.
  4. In the achievement of this potential, we believe that no child should be subject to demands and expectations that are consistently beyond their capacity.
  5. In recognition of the fact that children develop within families and communities, we work in partnership with the people who care for them.
  6. We strive to work with existing systems in order to promote understanding and improved support for the well-being of children.
  7. We respect the diversity of beliefs, values and cultures held by families and communities, and do our best to work in harmony with these beliefs and values towards optimal outcomes for children.
  8. We respect the diversity of identities¹ among the children and families we serve.
  9. We acknowledge the traditional owners/tangata whenua of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and will nurture their future generations. We commit our skills to working with them in a spirit of collaboration and respect for the well-being of their children.

For our profession and professionals:

  1. We work within a life-course perspective with the dual goals of alleviating current distress, and working towards optimal adult outcomes, which includes successful transition to adult services where necessary.
  2. In acknowledgement of the complexity and uncertainty inherent to this area of work, we value the sharing of knowledge and experience towards the development of good clinical judgement.
  3. We promote good quality, relevant research towards more effective evidence based clinical practice.
  4. We respect and value the diverse personal beliefs and cultures of our membership. We promote equity of access and encourage participation from all members.

¹ Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations