How health professionals support children and young people with SEND

Who health professionals are

If your child needs extra help because they have special educational needs or a disability, they may need support from a range of different health professionals.

Health professionals may include:

• your GP
• paediatricians
• therapists
• clinical psychologists
• dieticians
• specialist nurses such as:
  • health visitors
  • school nurses
  • community children’s nursing teams

When these professionals work together, they are sometimes called a multi-disciplinary team.

Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, has produced a booklet about the different types of health professionals and how they can help.

Seaside View Child Development Centre

Many health professionals are located in Seaside View Child Development Centre. This is where children are assessed when there are concerns about their development.

At Seaside View, health professionals work together to support and treat your child.

Find out more about the specialist health services available at Seaside View and how to access them.

What health professionals do

Health professionals who are working with you can:

• tell you where you can get support for your child and family
• answer questions you may have
• explain about symptoms and medications
• organise any reviews and checks
• provide health reports for Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan assessments
• teach you how to support your child’s communication and language development

Contact a health professional

If you need help now, but it’s not an emergency

In an emergency

In an emergency, you can also go to your nearest A&E (Accident and Emergency). You can use the NHS website to find your nearest A&E.

Contact your GP

If your problem is not urgent or an emergency, contact your GP. You can find contact information for your GP on NHS.UK.