Child Development Specialists at The Children's Hospital

The CDU team includes a variety of professionals. Your child may see one or more of the following:

Psychologist

Licensed clinical psychologists complete an individualized evaluation of your child, which may include information about intellectual functioning, social and emotional functioning, adaptive skills, and special learning needs. Individualized suggestions are provided in a follow-up report, which includes a summary of the evaluation and results, along with specific recommendations for intervention strategies to help your child make optimal progress.

Occupational Therapist

Evaluates and makes treatment recommendations for such concerns as fine motor and self-help skills, as well as for problems with sensory modulation/regulation.

Physical Therapist

Evaluates and makes treatment recommendations for such concerns as gross motor skills.

Speech-Language Pathologist

Evaluates and makes treatment recommendations for concerns involving expressive and receptive language, as well as social use of language and other communication skills.

Developmental Pediatrician/Nurse Practitioner

Developmental-behavioral and/or neurodevelopmental pediatricians or nurse practitioners diagnose and provide treatment recommendations for a variety of developmental and neurobehavioral disorders. The clinician uses information obtained both during the visit and from other sources, such as medical records, early intervention and educational records (including assessments and testing), psychologists, occupational and physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists. After reviewing the available information and explaining the diagnosis, the developmental pediatrician discusses treatment recommendations. 

Follow-up care

After your child’s evaluation in the CDU, our team members will send a written report to you and your child’s primary healthcare provider.