Pre-school & Nursery

Members of our team have experience of working with parents of very young children. In the case of children who may have special needs or a disability, it is important to begin the process of gathering information as soon as possible. While practical support is always essential, it may not be possible to give an immediate and certain diagnosis.

For most children, any difficulty expressed in infancy is likely to be resolved with the kinds of intervention and support available locally. People such as your health visitor are the first line of the services which you can call for help. They will know where to go and who to see in your locality in order to deal with the most common difficulties. Services they may ask to help you will include the Community Paediatric Team and speech therapists. Sometimes they will ask you to go to the local Child Development Centre, a Children's Centre or the local hospital. In some areas there will be home visiting services, including the portage service. All of these people should explain to you what they can offer and what you need to do yourself to help your child. In some cases you will be referred to a local psychologist for a developmental learning or psychological assessment. You should try to keep a record of all the contacting you have done, especially of what they advise and the outcomes as you see them.

You may feel you need a second opinion or you may find that referral to psychological services locally has a lengthy waiting list. In such cases we would be pleased to discuss with you how we might help.