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Pediatric Neurology
Choose Essentia Health for high-quality neurology care for your child in Northeastern and Central Minnesota. You can depend on our pediatric neurologist to diagnose and treat brain, spinal cord, nerve, and muscle conditions while providing support and guidance to your family.
Ask for a Referral
You’ll need a referral from your child's primary care provider for this service.
What's a Pediatric Neurologist?
A pediatric neurologist is a pediatrician with specialized training in the diagnosis and management of conditions that affect the nervous system in newborns, children and adolescents.
Conditions Treated
See the full list of conditions we treat, and select a condition to find providers and locations near you.
- Amnesia - Pediatric
- Autism - Pediatric
- Autoimmune diseases - Pediatric
- Cerebral palsy - Pediatric
- Cerebrovascular disease - Pediatric
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth - Pediatric
- Cognitive impairment - Pediatric
- Concussion - Pediatric
- Delirium - Pediatric
- Dementia - Pediatric
- Developmental delay - Pediatric
- Down syndrome - Pediatric
- Dystonia - Pediatric
- Epilepsy - Pediatric
- Essential tremor - Pediatric
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Gait abnormality - Pediatric
- Hallucination - Pediatric
- Headache - Pediatric
- Migraines - Pediatric
- Multiple sclerosis - Pediatric
- Muscular dystrophy - Pediatric
- Neurological conditions - Pediatric
- Seizure disorders - Pediatric
- Spina bifida - Pediatric
- Stroke - Pediatric
- Syncope - Pediatric
- Tourette’s/tics - Pediatric
- Transient ischemic attack - Pediatric
- Tremor - Pediatric
- Vertigo - Pediatric
Team-Based Care
Count on a team of professionals with decades of experience to work together and deliver the best possible care, including medication management. Depending on your child’s condition, their health care team may include:
- Pediatric neurologists
- Your child’s primary care doctor or pediatrician
- Pediatric intensivists
- Child life specialists
Your child’s condition can impact their behavior and ability to learn. Rely on Essentia’s team of specialists to answer your questions and provide guidance. Your child’s neurologist will work with other pediatric specialists—such as mental health experts—to provide specialized care for conditions like autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida.
Concussion Care
A concussion is a brain injury. Symptoms can happen up to 72 hours after the injury and may include:
- Blurry vision
- Confusion
- Loss of consciousness
- Headache
- Not being able to wake up
- Slurred words
- Trouble walking
If your child has signs of a concussion, go to the emergency room right away.
Sports Concussions
If your child has a head injury while playing or practicing a sport, they should stop playing immediately. Like with other concussions, you should go to the emergency room as soon as possible. Learn about how student athletes can prevent sports injuries.
Head Injury Testing
Trust the specialists at Essentia to accurately assess your child for signs of traumatic brain injury. Your child’s evaluation may include:
- Physical exam to test coordination, balance, reflexes, and nerve function
- Imaging tests, such as a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
- ImPACT® (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing), which uses a computer program to check your child’s response time and memory skills
Epilepsy Specialists
Our care team can help your child manage symptoms of epilepsy and seizure disorders. Your child’s personalized care plan may include medications, procedures, and advanced treatments, such as vagal nerve stimulation (VNS).
Vagal Nerve Stimulation
VNS prevents seizures by sending a mild electrical pulse to the brain from a small device called a generator. A surgeon will place the device in your child’s chest and the generator can last for up to 15 years.
Epilepsy Resources
Your child’s health care team may recommend services that can support your family. For more information about pediatric epilepsy care, contact the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota or call 800-779-0777.
Muscular Dystrophy Clinic
If your child lives with muscular dystrophy, you can access multiple members of their care team in a single location when you choose our Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Clinic in Duluth, Minnesota. During your appointment, you and your child might see a:
- Dietitian
- Pediatric neurologist
- Rehabilitation therapist
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor
Benefit from our partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Four times a year, pediatric pulmonologists and cardiologists who specialize in muscular dystrophy join Essentia’s clinic through telehealth technology.
Patient Story
Autumn Paulus shares how her care team at Essentia Health adapted their treatment to get her back to ice skating after suffering a concussion.
Current Clinical Research Studies
Talk to your doctor to see if you may be eligible to participate in a research study through the Essentia Institute of Rural Health. By participating in a clinical study, you may have access to treatments, medications and medical devices that are not widely available.
Service Offered
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Pediatric Services
Choose Essentia Health for high-quality, family-centered pediatric health care at hospitals and clinics in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.