Child Development Team - Paediatrics

Child Development Team

·        For children with:

o  An identified disability

o  Developmental delay

o  At risk of developmental delay/difficulties

·        Involves multi-disciplinary assessment and intervention

·        Social Worker:

o  Conducts individual, marital and family social assessments

o  Liases with other community services (CYFS, WINZ, etc) and facilitates brokerage of services

o  Provides emotional support

o  Teaching parenting skills

o  Advocacy

·        Psychologist:

o  Assessment: neuropsychological, development, behaviour/emotion, family function

o  Intervention: For individual, skills for parents, family relationships

·        Physiotherapist: 

o  Functional assessment of gross motor skills: delay, abnormal muscle tone, loss of range of movement, gait abnormalities, mobility, co-ordination

o  Therapy (including hydrotherapy) and home/school exercise programmes

o  Assessing for standing frames, walking aides and wheelchairs (with OT)

·        Occupational therapist:

o  Assessment of fine-motor skills (use of hands): 

§  Tool manipulation: grasp and grip, bilateral hand use, release, eye-hand co-ordination (eg stacking)

§  Pre-writing: lines, circles, picture of a person

§  Handwriting: grip, control, sizing, closure, hand dominance, speed

§  Cutting with scissors: accuracy and co-ordination

o  Assessment of self-care skills:

§  Undress/dress, buttons, zips, shoelaces, etc

§  Feed themselves

§  Sit unsupported in the bath

§  Toileting, including sitting on toilet, pulling pants down, wiping

§  Clean teeth, brush hair, wipe face

o  Assess for equipment to help with the above

·        Speech language therapist:  assesses and assists with:

o  Receptive language: understanding

o  Expressive language: including gesture and facial expression

o  Phonology: sound system

o  Pragmatics: social rules – sharing, turn taking, eye contact (biggest problem in autism)

o  Feeding: transition from tube to oral feeding, behavioural feeding issues

o  Voice: vocal nodules due to abuse (eg screaming)

o  Fluency: stammering

·        Visiting Neurodevelopmental Therapist:

o  Home based assessment

o  Family support

o  Liaison with other health professionals and community agencies

o  Assessment for equipment

·        Developmental paediatrician:

o  Developmental assessments/examination for suspected delay

o  Investigates cause

o  Review of developmental progress