ABPN Child Neurology study plan

Map gross motor, fine motor, language, and social milestones from birth to 18 years into one age-banded table, marking the threshold at which each delay becomes a referral trigger.

Differentiate benign developmental variants from pathologic findings by building a checklist for persistent handedness before 18 months, toe walking, asymmetric tone, and head-circumference crossing of percentile lines.

Classify congenital CNS malformations by embryologic timing, from dorsal induction through myelination, and attach one representative syndrome and recurrence risk to each class.

Construct a decision tree for the six core inheritance patterns and apply it to at least three pedigrees per pattern, including mitochondrial and imprinting exceptions.

Identify when to order karyotype, chromosomal microarray, targeted gene panel, or exome sequencing in a child with developmental delay with or without dysmorphism.

Interpret the Sarnat staging examination and therapeutic hypothermia eligibility criteria for a term newborn with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, including the pitfalls of sedation and low-voltage EEG.

Distinguish neonatal seizure semiology from jitteriness, benign sleep myoclonus, and hyperekplexia, then select weight-based first-line antiseizure therapy for each clinical scenario.

Grade germinal matrix-intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia on cranial ultrasound and state the imaging surveillance interval and prognosis attached to each grade.

Evaluate the floppy newborn with a stepwise workup that sequences sepsis, metabolic screening, spinal imaging, and neuromuscular testing rather than ordering all tests at once.

Explain newborn metabolic screening interpretation, bilirubin neurotoxicity risk thresholds, and the neurologic follow-up plan for an infant with an abnormal screen.

Classify seizures and epilepsy syndromes using the current ILAE framework, separating focal from generalized onset and self-limited from pharmacoresistant courses.

Match antiseizure medications to seizure type, epilepsy syndrome, age, and comorbidity, stating the two most important adverse effects and the monitoring lab for each drug.

Recognize the classic childhood epilepsy syndromes and their EEG signatures, including infantile spasms, Lennox-Gastaut, childhood absence, benign rolandic, and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

Outline a weight-based status epilepticus protocol that sequences benzodiazepine dosing, second-line agents, and escalation to continuous infusion with ICU monitoring.

Read basic EEG tracings well enough to identify normal background for age, focal slowing, spike-wave discharges, hypsarrhythmia, and burst suppression.

Localize weakness to anterior horn cell, peripheral nerve, neuromuscular junction, or muscle using distribution, reflexes, sensory findings, and progression over time.

Interpret creatine kinase, EMG/NCS, and genetic testing results in the context of a suspected myopathy or neuropathy, and recognize when results are falsely reassuring.

Differentiate Charcot-Marie-Tooth subtypes, dystrophinopathies, spinal muscular atrophy, and congenital myasthenic syndromes by inheritance, examination, and confirmatory testing.

Formulate surveillance plans for cardiomyopathy, restrictive lung disease, scoliosis, and contractures in progressive neuromuscular disease, with the timing of each screening test.

Identify the neuromuscular emergencies requiring immediate intervention, including Guillain-Barre syndrome with respiratory failure, myasthenic crisis, and SMA type 1.

Correlate pediatric stroke presentation with arterial territory and distinguish arterial ischemic stroke, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, and hemorrhagic stroke by onset, exam, and imaging.

Select the acute workup for pediatric stroke, sequencing vascular imaging, thrombophilia testing, cardiac evaluation, and metabolic screening, and state the situations in which thrombolysis or thrombectomy is considered.

Risk-stratify the common pediatric brain tumors by age at presentation, anatomic location, and imaging characteristics, including posterior fossa and suprasellar masses.

Outline management of neuro-oncologic emergencies: raised intracranial pressure, obstructive hydrocephalus, spinal cord compression, and tumor lysis risk.

Describe the late effects of cranial radiation and chemotherapy that require long-term surveillance, including endocrinopathy, vasculopathy, and secondary malignancy.

Differentiate the acquired demyelinating syndromes, including ADEM, optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, NMOSD, and MOGAD, by clinical course, MRI pattern, and antibody status.

Apply the diagnostic criteria for pediatric multiple sclerosis and outline when to start, switch, or stop disease-modifying therapy.

Recognize autoimmune encephalitis presentations and select the appropriate antibody panels, initial immunotherapy, and escalation pathway.

Compare bacterial, viral, and tuberculous meningitis by CSF cell count, protein, glucose, and stains, then match each to empiric antimicrobial and adjunctive steroid decisions.

Manage the complications of CNS infection, including raised intracranial pressure, SIADH, seizures, vasculitic infarction, and post-meningitic hearing loss.

Organize inborn errors of metabolism by clinical presentation, including neonatal encephalopathy, intractable seizures, developmental regression, and organomegaly, and name the first-line tests for each category.

Distinguish neurodegenerative disorders with predominant gray matter involvement from those with white matter involvement using age of onset, course, and MRI pattern.

Evaluate pediatric headache by separating primary from secondary causes, applying red flags for raised intracranial pressure, and selecting acute and preventive therapy with dosing.

Classify pediatric sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, parasomnias, narcolepsy, and circadian rhythm disorders, and interpret basic polysomnography indices.

Assess concussion and abusive head trauma, including return-to-learn and return-to-play progression, imaging decisions, and mandated reporting obligations.

Re-rank all ten domains by your own error rate from the practice blocks and reallocate remaining study hours to the two lowest-scoring domains, revisiting epilepsy and neurogenetics first as the highest-density material.

Reconstruct from memory the milestone card, malformation table, epilepsy matrix, and CSF algorithm, then correct each against your original notes to expose residual gaps.

Complete timed mixed blocks that force rapid switching between domains, and practice committing to an answer before reading all options to build pacing discipline.

Review the accumulated error log item by item, converting each missed fact into a single-sentence retrieval cue that you can self-quiz in under two minutes.