NHS Islington...

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Child Development Team

The Child Development Team (CDT) is a multi-agency service which specialise in assessing, diagnosing, treating and advising on children who have severe and complex developmental difficulties.

These difficulties can be physical, mental, social, emotional, behavioural, sensory or related to learning ability.

What does the service do?

• We provide an early support service to families which is co-ordinated, accessible, consistent and comprehensible.
• We act as a single point of contact to support families through the maze of children’s services that are available.
• We offer assessment and diagnosis of children who have severe and complex delays in their development (or disorders).
• Where appropriate we will arrange a programme of treatment and care. We do this in partnership with parents to reflect the needs of the child and their family.

Who are we?

Our team includes the following staff members:

• A team leader
• Paediatricians/medical staff
• Specialist health visitors
• Administrative staff
• Speech and language therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Clinical psychologists
• Physiotherapists
• Family counsellors
• Dieticians
• Social workers

We enable parents and carers to get actively involved in assessing, managing and reviewing their child’s needs. We can also arrange referrals to other specialists and services. These include referrals to services at Children's Centres, education and other Social Services departments.

Who is the service for?

We work with children aged 0-5 years who have severe and complex developmental difficulties including physical, mental, social, emotional, behavioural, sensory or related to learning ability. Children who have less severe disabilities will be cared for by primary health care services.

After the age of 5, children will receive their care from school health services. Our team members and school health staff work closely together which helps to make the transition from the Child Development Team to school health as seamless as possible.

How are children referred to the service?

Children can be referred by any professional including:

• GPs
• Health visitors
• Special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs)
• Health workers
• Social workers

Downloads

Child Development Team Fact Sheet

Pathway for children and young people with Down syndrome. This pathway sets out the support provided by local agencies for every child in Islington with Down syndrome.

Web link

The CDT is linked with the National Early Support Program
www.earlysupport.org.uk