Pediatric neurology: Specialized care for complex conditions

We provide the highest possible level of care to kids with epilepsy.

We provide education and treatment for children with severe headaches and migraines in our UW Health Kids Headache Clinic in Madison, Wis., and our Neuro and Headache Center in Rockford, Ill.

We provide care for children with complex nerve and muscle disorders.

Our neuropsychologists work with children with brain disorders who have problems at home or school. Our team offers testing and assessments. We work with you and your child to develop a plan for their success.

Babies and children often do unusual things: they may have twitching, jerking, staring, frequent falls or other abnormal movements. Many of these spells turn out to be benign, but some are more serious. At first, it can be hard to tell which kids need medical attention from a specialist and, if so, how urgently.

Our team partners with other UW Health Kids experts to provide neurological care for children with complex medical conditions. Our partner clinics and programs include:

• Brachial Plexus Clinic

• Cerebral Palsy Clinic

• UW Health Kids Neurocutaneous Disorders Clinic 

• Medical Genetics Clinic

• UW Health Kids Brain Care Clinic

• UW Health Kids Neuro-oncology 

• UW Health Kids Pain Management Clinic

• Waisman Center

Home to one of just two Level IV NICUs in Wisconsin, American Family Children’s Hospital offers a team of neonatal neurological experts and cutting-edge technologies needed to monitor your baby’s brain from the moment any trouble is suspected.

Members of our team lead research on epilepsy and spinal muscular atrophy.

• Batten disease

• Brain malformation

• Brain trauma (including shaken baby syndrome and concussion)

• Central nervous system infections (including meningitis)

• Cerebral palsy

• Developmental delay and regression

• Encephalitis

• Duchenne muscular dystrophy

• Epilepsy 

• Febrile seizures

• Headaches and migraines

• Infantile spasms

• Genetic and metabolic disorders

• Neurologic autoimmune disorders and conditions

• Neuromuscular disorders

• Pediatric stroke

• Spinal muscular atrophy

• Tremor and movement disorders

Our team offers vagus nerve stimulation, responsive neurostimulation and deep brain stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy.  

We also offer ketogenic diet therapy. This special low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet can help to control the frequency of seizures in children with epilepsy.

We offer Botox injections, nerve blocks, trigger point injections and neuromodulation treatments to relieve headaches.

Our team was the first in Wisconsin to use Zolgensma, a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. Gene therapy works by replacing a defective or missing gene.

We were also among the first programs to offer Spinraza to treat spinal muscular atrophy. This medication increases the production of a protein that plays an important role in protecting and strengthening motoneurons that control muscle activity. 

We are the first medical center in Wisconsin to provide Brineura infusions for treating neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (Batten disease). These infusions are given directly into the brain and provide dramatic improvements in controlling symptoms.