Your child’s care and progress is our number one priority at TherapyWorks. We have all heard the phrase “it takes a village”, well it truly does to care for a child with special needs. Do you know who is or should be on your child’s team? For example, did you know that a child with cerebral palsy should be seen by an orthopedic doctor every 6 months to year for hip and spine x-rays because they are at greater risk for dysplasia? Many times families are referred to various specialists without fully understanding what that person’s role is in their child’s care. The following is a list of the most common specialist that may be apart of your child’s team.
Therapist: Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Speech Language Therapist and provide therapeutic services
Orthopedic Physician: Specializes in treating conditions and injuries involving bones and connective tissue, including tendons and ligaments
Neurologist: Specializes in study, diagnosis and treatment of injury and disease of nervous system. These include brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves throughout body.
Pediatrician: Specializes in the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents The age limit usually ranges from birth up to 18 years.
Developmental Pediatrician: Developmental pediatricians focus on developmental, behavioral and learning
issues from infancy through young adulthood
Geneticist: Evaluate, diagnose and manage patients with heredity conditions or congenital malformations
Vision Therapist: Also known as vision training. This treatment is used to improve vision skills such as eye movement
control, eye coordination and teamwork. This is performed under supervision of optometrist, or orthoptist
ENT: An ear, nose and throat doctor specializes in diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ear, nose, sinuses, throat, face and neck.
Psychologist: This specialist evaluates, diagnoses, treats, and studies behavior and mental processes. Clinical psychologists and school psychologists work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts
Psychiatrist: Psychiatrists are medical doctors who must evaluate patients to determine whether or not their symptoms are the result of a medical illness, a combination of medical and mental, or a strictly mental one
If you are unsure if your child should be seeing one of these specialist please consult with your therapist and pediatrician for a recommendation. It is very important that if your child is seeing one of these specialists that you please inform your therapist so that they can collaborate and be informed of and changes in plan of care.