Holistic Rehabilitation for Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Child Health Implementation Approach Across Clinical, School, and Community Settings

Developmental disabilities (DDs), including cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disabilities, affect millions of children globally and can have lasting consequences for child health, development, education, participation, and family well-being. Traditional rehabilitation often fragments care, focusing on discrete impairments within isolated clinical silos. However, mounting evidence suggests that optimal outcomes require a holistic, biopsychosocial approach that addresses motor, cognitive, communicative, and socio-emotional needs concurrently. The WHO’s International Classification of Functioning framework underscores the importance of integrating body functions with daily activities and social participation. Yet, a persistent gap remains between this theoretical ideal and real-world practice. Translating holistic rehabilitation into coordinated action across clinical, school, and community settings is hindered by professional silos, funding constraints, and a lack of implementation models. These challenges are especially important from a child health and public health perspective, as fragmented services can widen inequities in access, delay developmental support, and limit long-term participation and quality of life. This Research Topic seeks to bridge that gap by examining how holistic, context-aware interventions can be sustainably delivered where children actually live, learn, and play, with particular attention to equitable, family-centered, and population-relevant models of care.The primary goal of this Research Topic is to advance the science and practice of holistic rehabilitation by showcasing implementation strategies that effectively integrate child health services across clinical, educational, and community ecosystems. We aim to move beyond efficacy trials in controlled settings toward pragmatic, participatory research that addresses how, when, and by whom integrated care is best delivered. Specifically, we seek contributions that: (1) evaluate transdisciplinary models linking hospitals, schools, and family homes; (2) identify contextual barriers and facilitators (e.g., reimbursement policies, teacher training, transportation) affecting scalable implementation; (3) present co-designed interventions involving therapists, educators, parents, and children themselves; and (4) demonstrate outcome measures that capture meaningful participation and quality of life, child functioning, inclusion, and family well-being, not just clinical metrics. Ultimately, this Research Topic aspires to produce actionable frameworks for policymakers, clinicians, public health practitioners, and school administrators to dismantle service silos, reduce inequities in access, and empower families. We encourage research from low-, middle-, and high-income settings to ensure global relevance, including work addressing underserved, rural, and resource-constrained communities, emphasizing that holistic rehabilitation is a right, not a privilege.This Research Topic welcomes original research, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, realist reviews, implementation science studies, policy and service delivery evaluations, and community-based participatory research. We are particularly interested in manuscripts addressing integrated care pathways, school-health partnerships, task-shifting to non-specialist providers, telehealth and digital tools for continuity of care, family-centered outcome measurement, and economic evaluations of integrated versus siloed services. Studies on early identification and intervention, underserved populations, rural and resource-constrained settings, and inequities related to disability, geography, or socioeconomic disadvantage are especially encouraged.Submissions should clearly demonstrate relevance to children’s health and public health, including implications for service delivery, equity, policy, prevention, or population-level outcomes. Manuscripts must explicitly address implementation across at least two of the following settings: clinical, school, and community. All submissions will undergo rigorous peer review, with emphasis on methodological quality, contextual relevance, and actionable insights for child health systems and practice. Topic editors: Auwal Abdullahi, Ching-yi Wu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78825/holistic-rehabilitation-for-children-with-developmental-disabilities-a-child-health-implementation-approach-across-clinical-school-and-community-settings