Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: Speech-Language Pathologists and Interprofessional Care

This collection synthesizes perspectives on Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS), providing a comprehensive resource for those in speech-language pathology and healthcare providers working within an interprofessional approach to treat and support infants, children, parents, caregivers, and families impacted by NOWS.

The volume responds to the growing challenge faced by SLPs and healthcare providers to develop new, evidence- based strategies to meet the needs of the emerging population of infants with NOWS, children prenatally exposed to opioids, their mothers, families and caregivers, in light of the growing opioid crisis in the US. Through a holistic approach, the book features contributions from researcher-clinicians across healthcare professions and from different countries. It brings together research on the impact of NOWS on child neurodevelopment, causes of neurodevelopmental alterations due to NOWS, interprofessional team care to optimize outcomes for this population, feeding, communication, sensory and motor issues, long- term outcomes into adolescence and adulthood, as well as best practices for addressing these. The volume also explores the impact of NOWS on families and effective strategies for supporting them. The Trauma Informed Care approach features throughout. The collection looks ahead to address research gaps toward enhancing evidence-based strategies from a strength- based perspective.

This book will be of interest to students and researchers in speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, pediatric medicine, and other related fields, as well as clinicians and instructors in these same disciplines.