About the Défi-Bourgogne Centre
The DéfI-Bourgogne Centre with its multidisciplinary team is a diagnostic and treatment coordination centre for children and adults with the potentially for intellectual disability issues. This regional centre, established in November 2013 with support from the Dijon Bourgogne University Hospital and the Bourgogne regional health agency (ARS), received certification in 2017 as a Rare Diseases Reference Centre. With Prof. Christel Thauvin as its coordinator, the DéfI-Bourgogne Centre is one of the centres constituting the reference centre for “Intellectual Disabilities from rare causes”, coordinated by Dr. Delphine Héron.
What is intellectual disability?
Intellectual disability is a disability characterised by impairments both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and adaptive behaviour, which covers a range of everyday social and practical skills. This disability manifests before the age of 18. Definition from the AAIDD (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities)
The objectives of the DéfI-Bourgogne centre
The promotion of assimilation and independence for persons affected with intellectual disability can only be considered within the context of appropriate management strategies. Such appropriate management strategies can be implemented if the patients have been given an evaluation that is specialised, multidisciplinary and personalised. It is vital to differentiate between intellectual disability, learning disorders and mental disorders.
The DéfI-Bourgogne Centre makes such evaluations available to patients in the Bourgogne region, with the use of measures that fall in line with the goal of promoting quality of life and independence.
This goal is built on several objectives:
- To recommend multidisciplinary evaluations to determine whether the difficulties detected are due to an intellectual disability or another causative factor
- To provide support to families in the notification and explanation diagnoses
- To make recommendations for personalised counselling by professionals in the social health network, in addition to educational, social and occupational adjustments (day hospital, socio-educational and socio-occupational rehabilitation, drug treatment, etc.)
- To organise training for health professionals and medical, mental health and social partners in the Bourgogne region on intellectual disability and disablement, and info-days and discussion events for associations and the general public.
- To similarly take part in research on intellectual disability
How to go about getting an evaluation at the DéfI-Bourgogne centre ?
To get an evaluation, the family must contact the administrative office.
If the patient is under the care of a geneticist or a paediatric neurologist from the university hospital, the assessment will be arranged right away.
If the patient has not met with a university hospital geneticist, a consultation will be held with one of the doctors at the genetics centre initially before arranging the assessment.
How is an assessment conducted ?
As an aid to familiarisation with the patient, two questionnaires are issued by the secretary along with the appointment notification. These are to be filled in and returned by the first day of the evaluation :
The customised multidisciplinary evaluation is conducted in accordance with the patient's needs and may be a combination of a child psychiatric and/or paediatric consultation, a neuropsychological assessment, a behavioural assessment, an occupational therapy assessment and an interview with a social worker. The assessment is conducted over the course of one or two consecutive days. In the case of families living more than 150 kilometres away, the secretary liaises with the Dijon University Hospital's family-patient lodgings, so that sleeping arrangements can be made nearby for children and families.
Following a meeting of the multidisciplinary team, a recommendation for a personal treatment plan is verbally communicated to the family, and a report summary issued to the family and the entire professional team involved and/or a group meeting held with the professionals (rehabilitation therapists, teaching team, school medical officer, educational advisor) with a view to implementing the necessary rehabilitation and teaching adjustments, and preparing 100% LTHC and MDPH (local regional authority for the disabled) certificates if necessary.