Peter Rosenbaum
O.C., MD, FRCP(C), DSc (HC), FRCPI Hon (Paed), FCAHS
Professor
Paediatrics, McMaster University
Canada Research Chair
Childhood Disability 2001-14
Co-Founder
CanChild Centre for Childhood-Onset Disability Research
Editorial Board
Mac Keith Press
Member, Executive Committee
IAACD
Peter Rosenbaum, O.C., MD, FRCP(C), DSc (HC) FRCPI Hon (Paed) RCPI joined the Department of Paediatrics in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University in 1973, and was appointed Full Professor in 1984. In 1989, with his colleague Dr. Mary Law, he co-founded CanChild Centre for Childhood-Onset Disability Research at McMaster. CanChild is now recognized worldwide as one of the leading centres of innovative and ground-breaking childhood disability research, including the creation of clinical classifications and measurement tools, and for its Knowledge Translation. Among CanChild’s and Rosenbaum’s most impactful work has been the creation, in 2011, of the ‘F-words in Childhood Disability’ (Rosenbaum and Gorter) – a fun way to bring to life the framework for health of the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The paper has been downloaded >100,000 times from the journal website and cited >860 times, and the F-words are used around the world in at least 35 languages.
Dr. Rosenbaum is a contributing author to over 475 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters; and has been a guest lecturer in >30 countries. He has worked with >75 master’s and doctoral-level students at the Universities of Oxford, Utrecht, Witwatersrand, Australian Catholic University and University of Toronto in addition to McMaster.
Dr. Rosenbaum’s accomplishments have been recognized nationally and internationally. In June 2025, Dr. Rosenbaum became an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of his lifetime of research, writing and teaching in the field of childhood disability.
Dr. Rosenbaum’s career focus has been on a range of interconnected aspects of the ‘childhood disability’ field – addressing issues related to the functioning of children and youth; the wellbeing of families of children with long-term impairments; ways of thinking, talking and acting to provide services to these kids and families; the language we use to talk about clinical conditions like Cerebral Palsy and other impairments; and how to communicate these many issues to families, learners and the general public (including policy-makers) in plain and accessible language.