Specialists to Whom Referrals May Be Made
Source: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Topics: Speech and Language Issues, Early Intervention Services, Special Needs, Child and Adolescent Development, Physical Health
Provided is a list of specialists to whom referrals should be made based on the area of concern.
Physical Health
- Pediatrician, MD.—A medical doctor skilled in diagnosing and treating childhood diseases and in caring for children's health.
- General Practitioner, M.D.—A medical doctor who specializes in treating and caring for patients who have general health problems.
- Public Health Nurse—A registered nurse (RN) who surveys, screens, and manages family and community health care.
- Dentist, D.D.S.—A person licensed to practice dentistry (teeth and oral cavity).
- Orthopedist, M.D.—A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats bone and skeletal disorders.
- Cardiologist M.D.—A medical doctor who diagnoses, treats, and manages heart disorders.
Speech and Language
- Speech and Language Pathologist—A professional who screens, diagnoses, and treats communication disorders related to voice, language, articulation, oral-motor skills, and hearing.
- Audiologist—Professional who screens and diagnoses hearing problems, evaluates hearing aid fittings, and may provide therapy relating to language development and hearing aid use.
- Child Psychologist—A specialist who focuses on understanding and treating the behavioral and emotional problems of children.
- Special Education Teacher—A teacher with special training and experience in educating children with special needs.
- Public Health Nurse
Hearing
- Audiologist
- Speech and Language Pathologist
- Otologist, E.N.T., M.D.—A medical doctor who diagnoses, treats, and manages physical disorders relating to the ear, nose, and throat.
- Pediatrician, M.D.
- Public Health Nurse
- Teacher of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired—A teacher with special training and experience in educating children who are deaf or hearing impaired.
Vision
- Ophthalmologist, M.D.—A medical doctor who screens, diagnoses, and treats eye disorders.
- Optometrist—A therapist skilled in assessing visual acuity, adapting corrective lenses, and assessing and managing visual perception and related difficulties.
- Pediatrician, M.D.
- General Practitioner, M.D.
- Public Health Nurse
Motor
- Occupational Therapist—A therapist who tests and suggests programs for perceptual problems, gross and fine motor difficulties, and suggests methods to teach skills needed for activities of daily living.
- Physical Therapist—A therapist who tests and suggests programs for gross and fine motor difficulties, walking problems, and methods to teach activities of daily living.
- Pediatrician, M.D.
- Neurologist, M.D.—A medical doctor who screens, diagnoses, and treats nervous system disorders such as paralysis, reflex coordination, epilepsy, and perceptual problems.
- Child Psychologist
- Speech and Language Pathologist
- Special Education Teacher
- General Practitioner, M.D.
- Public Health Nurse
Social and Emotional
- Child Psychologist
- Psychiatrist, M.D.—A medical doctor who specializes in treating mental disorders.
- Social Worker—A professional with special training and experience in helping people interact with society, family, and co-workers, and with financial difficulties. This professional also refers people to other specialists.
- Special Education Teacher
- Speech and Language Pathologist
- Audiologist
- Public Health Nurse
Excerpted From:
Excerpt from An Introduction to Early Childhood Special Education, by L.L. Dunlap, 1997 edition, p. 5.
© 1997, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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