Neurophysiatric Area

Scientific and hospital Center - Bosisio Parini (LECCO)

Center
Location
Building VII

Head

Sandra Strazzer

Team

Raffaella Cambiaso
Secretary

Cristina Gerosa
Secretary

Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lidia Riva
Secretary

Description

The Neurophysiatric Area deals with clinical diagnosis, functional diagnosis, rehabilitation pathways and rehabilitation of adaptive functions in children and young people with neuromotor, cognitive and sensory disabilities of both congenital and acquired origin.
The clinical evaluation is based on the expertise of doctors specialized in all the areas related to the overall clinical context of the children. Rehabilitation programs take advantage of rehabilitation professionals that provide specialized or integrated processes according to the specific needs of the patient. The rehabilitation programs benefit from traditional or innovative methods, sometimes related to specific scientific research paths.
The evaluation and rehabilitation program can take place in inpatient admission, Day Hospital (DH) or in an outpatient intensive program called "Macroattività Ambulatoriale Complessa" (MAC).

 The Neurophysiatric Area obtained the ISO 9001 certification from the certifying agency DNV-GL.


Clinical Units available in Bosisio Parini:

Specialized Rehabilitation of Neuropsychiatric Pathologies

Head:
Sandra Strazzer f.f.
Medical doctor:
Romina Romaniello (Head of CNS Rare Diseases Unit)
Susan Marelli
Margherita Bonino
Nursing coordinator:
Marica Granziera

Activity

The Unit focuses on the diagnosis of neurological disorders in early and late childhood. The diagnosis process is aimed at the development of specific rehabilitation programs. Different pathways are available:

  • assessment and follow-up of patients with pathologies of central nervous system
  • diagnosis and treatment of epileptic patients
  • evaluation of newborn with swallowing pathologies
  • evaluation and treatment of patients with low vision problems
  • diagnostic evaluation of hearing impaired patients

Access

  • Upon referral by Neonatal Intensive Care Units or La Nostra Famiglia regional Centers
  • Following outpatient visits
  • Filling out a detailed application form

Contacts

Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.810, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Social services: Tel. +39 031/877.457, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Services

0-3 Center for the At-risk infant

Head: Rosario Montirosso, psychologist, psychotherapist, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Eleonora Visintin, psychologist, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Activity: The 0-3 Center offers a clinical psychology service and also carries out scientific research activity. It focuses on the child's first 3 years of life, treating children with a neurodevelopmental disorder or a delay in psychomotor development. The clinical psychology service provides diagnosis and early intervention activities for children of the Unit “Neuropsychiatric Pathologies in Developmental Age” on an inpatient or outpatient basis, day hospital or MAC - an outpatient intensive program. It also offers a psychological and parental support for the families.

The Center offers:

  • Psychological diagnosis
Clinical observation - Evaluation of the neurodevelopmental development - Evaluation of the child cognitive-behavioral set-up, emotional regulation, socio-relational skills and adaptive behavior. Observation of parent-child relationship, of educational and parental dynamics - Evaluation of attachment behavior - Individual psycho-diagnostic examination.

  • Psychological counselling to families
Psychological and parental support for the families of the children hospitalized in the Unit “Neuropsychiatric Pathologies in Developmental Age” or in Day Hospital treatment .

Access: The service is dedicated to children treated by the Unit “Neuropsychiatric Pathologies in Developmental Age” on an inpatient basis, Day Hospital basis or MAC (an outpatient intensive program).

Low Vision Center

Head: Giuseppina Giammari Aldé, child neuropsychiatrist, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Activity: Visual impairments, as any other disabilities in childhood, can affect the global development of the children, therefore it requires a global intervention. When the visual impairment is part of a multiple disability it is necessary to implement a variety of interventions: each professional has to adapt his work and his setting to the child visual, motor and cognitive conditions. The Low Vision Center carries out a multidisciplinary evaluation and rehabilitation activity that includes the cooperation of many specific professions: neuropsychiatrist, ophtalmologist, therapist, psychologist, educationalist and computer specialist.

Description

Neuropsychiatry/ Pediatric neurology services

  • 0-18 months - for neurological disorders of sucklings and babies.
  • Swallowing problems of neurological origin.
  • Neurological disorders of late childhood.
  • Cephalgia in developmental age.
  • Rare diseases.
  • CNS malformations and genetic syndromes with mental retardation
  • Motor disorders in early and late childhood with a focus on congenital forms (primary dystonias) and tics.
  • Low vision in developmental age.
  • Functional evaluation for clinical-rehabilitative treatments and school integration.

Acquired Brain Injuries

Head:
Sandra Strazzer
Medical doctors:
Elena Beretta
Francesca Formica
Sara Galbiati
Federica Locatelli
Carlo Biancardi
Nursing Coordinator:
Giulia Mandelli

Activity

The Unit is focused on intensive rehabilitation of children with acquired brain injuries: head injury, encephalitis, anoxia or other, through:

  • rehabilitation pathways for the recovery of impaired functions and adaptive functions
  • social reintegration pathways
  • training for the weaning from a tracheostomich cannula and from enteral nutrition, with recovery of oral feeding
  • training for the recovery of alertness for patients in vegetative state
  • motor rehabilitation through traditional, robotic or VR treatments
  • rehabilitation for the recovery of the hand and upper limb through traditional physiotherapy, Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and robotized activities
  • speech and cognitive functions therapy (attention, memory, executive functions)
  • psychological and behavioral rehabilitation
  • occupational therapy in collaboration with Centro Ausili (Disability Aids Center)

Access

  • Upon referral by NICUs and Units for acute patients or by one of our Regional Centers
  • Following a visit to the Brain Injury Service
  • Filling out a detailed application form

Contacts

Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.849, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Social service: Tel. +39 031/877.453, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinics

Functional and post-surgical rehabilitation

This Unit includes the subunit Neuromotor Pathologies.

Head:
Luigi Piccinini
Medical doctors:
Cristina Maghini (Head of Neuromotor Pathologies)
Barbara Bonaiti
Chiara Germiniasi
Claudia Guerra
Simona Manzoni
Nursing coordinator:
Angelo Negri

Activity

The Unit provides:

  • Intensive rehabilitation treatments and functional evaluation for children with outcome of cerebral palsy or muscle-skeletal deformities, congenital or acquired
  • Intensive rehabilitation for post-orthopedic surgery on soft or bone parts
  • Intensive rehabilitation treatments for congenital brain injuries (0-5 y.o.)
  • Intensive rehabilitation treatments through Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)
  • Robotized rehabilitation and use of Virtual Reality or Immersive VR for the functional recovery of lower and upper limbs
  • Treatment of spasticity through injection of botulinum toxin, also for patients with intrathecal baclofen infusion pump
  • Evaluation, customization and prescription of aids and auxiliary devices with the assistance of orthopedic technicians.

Access

  • Upon referral by national orthopedic surgery Units or one of our regional Centers
  • Following a visit in our specialized clinics
  • Filling out a detailed application form

Contacts

Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.829, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Social Service: Tel. +39 031/877.453, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinics

  • Cerebral Palsies
  • Babies (CIMT therapy/integrated program for babies)
  • Robotized theray
  • Spasticity
  • Physiatrics, body dysmorphia, rare diseases
  • Botulinum toxin treatment
  • ITB Refill

Neuro-oncological rehabilitation

Head:
Geraldina Poggi
Medical doctors:
Geraldina Poggi
Alessandra Bardoni
Nursing coordinator:
Marica Granziera

Activity

The Unit takes care of patients with:

  • tumor outcomes at the different stages of the treatment process (mainly during the rehabilitation phase)

This activity takes place through:

  • clinical and functional evaluations
  • neuropsychological evaluation and follow-up (only for oncological patients)
  • neuropsychological rehabilitation (attention and memory skills, executive and problem solving skills, with a specific focus on the correlation with the injury outcomes - evaluated thanks to neuroimaging and other neurophysiological techniques)
  • evaluation and cognitive-behavioral psychological treatment
  • rehabilitation programs for the recovery of lower and upper limb functions through traditionalphysiotherapy, CIMT and robotized activities

Access

  • Directly from intensive care units, units for acute patients, oncology units (by agreement between doctors)
  • Upon referral by one of our regional Centers
  • Filling out a detailed application form

Contacts

Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.849, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Social Service: Tel. +39 031/877.453, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinics

Follow up

Rehabilitation of Neuromuscular diseases

Head:
Mariagrazia D'Angelo
Medical doctors:
Nursing Coordinator
Angelo Negri

Activity

The Units is involved in the treatment of patients with neuromuscular chronic developmental pathologies, both through outpatient clinical monitoring and short hospital stays. Multidisciplinary evaluations are carried out for the following pathologies:

  • Dystrophinopathies (Duchenne and Becker Dystrophy)
  • Myotonic Dystrophy and Limb-girdle dystrophy
  • Muscular Dystrophy and congenital myopathies
  • Facioscapulohumeral Dystrophy
  • Spinal muscular atrophy(SMA)
  • Motor neuron disease with early onset
  • Hereditary spastic paraparesis
  • Heredodegenerative ataxias (Friedreich Ataxia and Spinocerebellar pathologies)
  • Metabolic diseases, in particular of mitochondrial origin
  • Hereditary neuropathies

The problems related to the pathology are examined on the basis of the patient’s age and needs. The following evaluations are made:

  • motor and orthesic evaluation, evaluation of computer and domotic aids;
  • speech evaluation (development of language skills, of myo-oral and oropharyngeal skills, chewing and swallowing skills) and neurocognitive evaluation
  • clinical and diagnostic evaluation through neurological, cardiologic and pneumological examination con relativi esami strumentali), evaluation of nutritional status, diagnostic and urine tests, genetic examinations and counselling, eye exams, ENT exams, psychological and neuropsychiatric evaluation,neurophysiological evaluation (EMG/ENG, EEG, PESS), spinal radiography, Brain and spinal cord MRI, physiatric, orthopedic, phoniatric evaluation and fibroscopy

The Unit is a Regional Center for Rare Diseases and is authorised to certificate diagnoses and draw up treatment plans for the above mentioned pathologies.

The Unit doctors are authorized to prescribe motor aids and draw up functional diagnoses (in case of school age children).

Access

  • Following a visit in specialized clinics
  • Upon referral by one of our regional Centers
  • Filling out a detailed application form

Contacts

Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.829, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Social Service: Tel. +39 031/877.457, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinics

  • Neurological clinic for neuromuscular pathologies

Neurophysiopathology / Epileptology Service

Head:
Claudio Zucca
Medical doctors:
Stefania Zambrano
Nicoletta Zanotta
Nurse:
Lorena Fumagalli

Neuropshysiopathology technicians:
Annarita Parracino
Anna Campolunghi

Activity

Regional Center for Epilepsy participating in the Lombardy Epinetwork (Network of Epilepsy Centers) as a 3rd level Center for pediatric age and 2nd level Center for adult age.

  • It takes care of more than 1800 patients with epilepsy, non-epileptic paroxysmal events, sleeping disorders, in Day hospital and on an outpatient basis.
  • EEG and EEG polygraph systems
  • Polysomnography
  • Sleep deprivation EEG
  • Long-term EEG monitoring, Video-EEG, dynamic EEG.
  • Evoked potentials
  • Electromyography

Access

  • Neurological examination on an outpatient basis
  • Upon referral by one of our Regional Centers or one of our Hospital Units

Clinic

  • Neurophysiopathology and epilepsy clinic

Outpatient Intensive Program (MAC)

Head:
Alessandra Bardoni
Secretariat:
Paola Castelnuovo
Elisabetta Riva

Activity

  1. Intensive, high complexity and multidisciplinary treatments:
    • Physiotherapy (traditional, CIMT, ARMEO, FES)
    • Speech therapy
    • Neuropsychological treatment
    • Neuro psychomotricity treatment
    • Educational treatment
    • Cognitive-behavioral treatment
    • Psychological treatment
  2. Functional assessment
    • Neuropsychological (I and II level)
    • Cognitive-behavioral
    • Postural and mobility aids
    • Gait analysis
  3. Training/assessment for:
    • Use of cough assist machine
    • Use of assistive technologies for Augmentative Alternative Communication
    • assistive technologies for school learning (for patients with acquired or congenital cognitive disabilities)
    • activities of daily living
  4. For patients with dysphagia or difficulties in chewing:
    • Evaluation of swallowing skills
    • Training for stimulation of swallowing/chewing skills

In neurosensory domain:

  1. For visually impaired patients:
    • Evaluation of neuro-visual skills, training/assessment on assistive devices
    • Treatment of neurovisual stimulation
  2. For hearing-impaired patients
    • Evaluation of perceptive-auditory skills
    • Training for acoustic stimulation

Access

  • Outpatient examination (neurological, physiatric, otolaryngology, phoniatric)
  • Following an earlier hospitalization in our Institute

Contacts

Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.320, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Rehabilitation service

Head:
Lisa Bolognesi
Team:
  • Physiotherapists
    • Speech therapists
    • Therapists of Neuro-psychomotor therapy in developmental age
    • Occupational therapists
    • Therapists of neuropsychological rehabilitation
    • Professional educators

    Activity

    Physiotherapy Service:

    • Active and passive limb mobilisation
    • Neuromotor facilitation
    • Postural reeducation
    • Integrated intensive reeducation
    • Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)
    • Advanced technologies rehabilitation: robotics (Lokomat, Armeo...), Virtual reality/Immersive Virtual reality (GRAIL, Khymeia)
    • Respiratory rehabilitation
    • Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) and FES-Cycling
    • Aquatic rehabilitation

    Speech therapy service:

    • Recovery of oral and swallowing functions (dysphagia)
    • Augmentative Alternative Communication (CAA)
    • Interventions on preverbal communication skills
    • Rehabilitation of pragmatic competences
    • Rehabilitation of language functions

    Neuro-psychomotor therapy:

    • Facilitation of adaptive and affective-relational skills
    • Promotion of consciousness and bodily-self consciousness
    • Support to the integration of psychomotor functions (relationship space-time-objects)
    • Support to the developmental stages of play

    Occupational therapy:

    • Training for the use of aids and orthoses
    • Training to personal autonomy and self-care
    • Training for expressive activities
    • Adaptation to the environment

    Neuropsychological therapy:

    • Reeducation of cognitive functions: attention, memory, executive functions, problem solving, visual-perceptional functions, visual- constructive functions.
    • Treatment for the building of adaptive functions in the cognitive field

    Educational therapy:

    • see Service of Cognitive-behavioral psychology and Clinical psychology

    Access

    The Service is dedicated to patients admitted in the Neurophysiatric Unit or attending the Outpatient Intensive Program (Macro Attività Complessa Ambulatoriale Dipartimentale - M.A.A.C) .

    Cognitive-behavioral Treatment

    Head:
    Susanna Galbiati
    Psychologists:
    Monica Recla
    Katia Colombo
    Lisa Passoni
    Claudia Corti
    Claudia Fedeli
    Chiara Oprandi
    Susanna Frigerio
    Counsellors:
    Stefania Molteni
    Laura Cappelletti
    Simona Cattaneo
    Paola Seveso

    Educationalists:
    Chiara Sala
    Chiara Molteni

    Activity

    • Diagnosis of neuropsychological and cognitive skills for the Neurophysiatric Area:
      • Neuropsychological and cognitive-behavioral assessment of the patient for:
        • Outcome of acquired brain injuries (head trauma and other pathologies)
        • Progressive neurodegenerative pathologies during youth
        • Neuropsychological deficits in epyleptic encephalopathies
        • Intellectual disabilities in syndromic and non-syndromic congenital pathologies
      • Monitoring of behavioral attitude and responsiveness of patients in a vegetative state or in a minimally conscious state, also by administration of evaluation scales
    • Drawing up of specific rehabilitation (neuropsychological and logopedic) programs and technical supervision on the above mentioned assessments
    • Behavioral treatments for patients with outcome of acquired or congenital brain lesions in the presence of specific behavioral problems
    • Psychological rehabilitation treatments (psychostimulations) for patients in a vegetative or minimally conscious state
    • Specific training for care-givers, aimed at improving care skills and competences during hospitalization, day hospital or outpatient treatments
    • Supervision of therapists and educationalists involved in the activities above mentioned
    • Support to school teachers during school reintegration for patients of Neurophysiatric Area, with drafting of the documentation required by law
    • Collaborations with tutoring activities for post-graduate internships both for Bachelor degree, Master degree and post-degree schools of specialization
    • Scientific research in the neuropsychological and psychological-behavioral areas

    Access

    The Service is dedicated to patients admitted in the Neurophysiatric Unit or attending the Outpatient Intensive Program.

    Activity

    The Unit is focused on intensive rehabilitation of children with acquired brain injuries: head injury, encephalitis, anoxia or other, through:

    • rehabilitation pathways for the recovery of impaired functions and adaptive functions
    • social reintegration pathways
    • training for the weaning from a tracheostomich cannula and from enteral nutrition, with recovery of oral feeding
    • training for the recovery of alertness for patients in vegetative state
    • motor rehabilitation through traditional, robotic or VR treatments
    • rehabilitation for the recovery of the hand and upper limb through traditional physiotherapy, Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and robotized activities
    • speech and cognitive functions therapy (attention, memory, executive functions)
    • psychological and behavioral rehabilitation
    • occupational therapy in collaboration with Centro Ausili (Disability Aids Center)

    Access

    • Upon referral by NICUs and Units for acute patients or by one of our Regional Centers
    • Following a visit to the Brain Injury Service
    • Filling out a detailed application form

    Contacts

    Secretariat: Tel. +39 031/877.849, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Social service: Tel. +39 031/877.453, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Clinics

    Clinical Psychology Service

    Head:
    Susanna Galbiati
    Psychologists:
    Federica Civati
    Annarita Adduci
    Claudia Fedeli
    Francesca Villa
    Educationalists:
    Monica Bosisio
    Melissa Fumagalli

    Activity

    • Psychological diagnosis
      • Psychodiagnostic individual examination, including cognitive assessment by administration of specific evaluation scales
      • Direct or in situ clinical observation
      • Evaluation of educational dynamics and of the coping skills of family or caregivers, for patients with intellectual disabilities, neurodegenerative or syndromic pathologies, neurosensory deficits
    • counselling to individuals and/or to caregivers
    • Support to school teachers during school reintegration for patients of Neurophysiatric Area, with drafting of the documentation required by law
    • Supervision and monitoring of educationalists for the conduction of the laboratories of educational observation

    Access

    The Service is dedicated to patients admitted in the Neurophysiatric Unit or attending the Outpatient Intensive Program

    Special Education

    Educationalist:
    Daniela Valli
    Psychologist:
    Lisa Passoni

    Activity

    Support to the school integration process of the hospitalized children, through:

    • support to the teachers for the definition of the Personalized Learning Plan and the Personalized Educational Plan
    • useful information for the educational and learning activity
    • support for school guidance to the family and to the school of origin
    • evaluation of educational needs of children with sensory disabilities through a tiflo-didactic and pedagogic assessment, in particular for visually impaired/blind students and hearing-impaired/deaf pupils

    Access

    The Service is dedicated to patients admitted in the Neurophysiatric Unit or attending the Outpatient Intensive Program .


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