Who We Are:
We provide consultative services and enhance the coordination of care for children and families with special needs. The majority of Pediatric Developmental and Behavioral Care services are provided at 2 Medical Center Drive, Suite 110, Springfield.
Our experienced team of professionals provides an initial neuro-developmental assessment of infants and children with a variety of developmental disorders, including:
- specific or global delays
- autistic spectrum disorders (children with qualitative impairment in social interaction and in communication as well as restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior or interests and activities)
- pervasive developmental disorder
- school dysfunction
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- behavioral difficulties
- disorders of feeding, elimination, or sleep
- recurrent pain syndrome and other related neurodevelopmental problems.
Programs & Services:
Growth and Nutrition Program
The Regional Growth and Nutrition Program evaluates and treats infants and children (birth to 6 years) who have been diagnosed with Failure to Thrive (FTT).
There are a variety of factors that may cause FTT, including physical problems or environmental factors, such as poor eating habits, errors in preparing formula, multiple caregivers, dysfunctional family dynamics, and lack of knowledge about the nutritional and nurturing needs of infants and children.
Our team includes a developmental pediatrician, licensed clinical social worker, and a pediatric nutrition specialist. Together, they provide assessment, intervention, and follow-up. Ours is one of six programs in the state sponsored and supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Feeding Disorders Program
Our Feeding Team treats children who have feeding difficulties, but may otherwise have normal growth parameters. These children may have food aversions, oral sensitivity to different food textures, emotional or aggressive reactions to touch, or chewing difficulties.
Children in this program are first evaluated by a team consisting of a developmental pediatrician, social worker, and nutrition specialist. If appropriate, the child is then seen by an occupational therapist and speech pathologist who specialize in feeding. If needed, referrals can be made to sub-specialists for additional care.
Our treatment team includes a developmental pediatrician, pediatric nutrition specialist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, and licensed clinical social worker. We use a group treatment model that typically runs over a 10 week period, but is tailored to the individual needs of each patient. We provide each patient and their family with practical solutions that can be easily implemented at home.
Dry Days/Dry Nights Clinic
In this program, we use a behavioral approach to help children who have difficulty with bedwetting, daytime wetting, or soiling. We provide treatment and management options for children ages five and older and their parents.
Behavior Sleep Disorders Clinic
In our sleep clinic, we provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in children from birth through adolescence. Common childhood sleep problems include
sleep-onset association disorder, night terrors, sleep onset anxiety, delayed sleep-phase syndrome, and insomnia.
Depending on the diagnosis, we may recommend a sleep study, psychotherapy treatments, surgery, medications, and/or a referral to other subspecialty clinics. Psychotherapy treatment approaches are provided by a clinical psychologist, and medication treatments combined with behavioral approaches are provided by a behavioral pediatrician.
If a sleep study is required, Baystate Medical Center is home to the Baystate Regional Sleep Program, the region’s only accredited sleep program that provides pediatric services. [Provide link to Baystate Regional Sleep Program page]
Pediatric Environmental Clinic
Our Pediatric Environmental Clinic is led by a pediatric environmental specialist who evaluates and manages the care of children with suspected or known exposure to environmental toxins, including heavy metals (such as lead and mercury), arsenic, indoor and outdoor air pollutants.
Developmental Subspecialty Clinic
Baystate Children’s Hospital’s Developmental Subspecialty Clinic offers both a one time consultative evaluation and long term care for children from infancy through adolescence who have a variety of developmental, behavioral, or learning difficulties.
These concerns can affect a child’s behavioral, educational, and daily living capacities.
This clinic includes an evaluation by both a pediatric behavior and developmental specialist and a social worker, if appropriate.
Communication Clinic for Children with Hearing Loss
Our Communication Clinic offers a long-term approach for children with hearing difficulties. Our team includes a developmental pediatrician, speech and language pathologist specializing in hearing impairment, pediatric geneticist, and care coordinator who work together and with a variety of community agencies to address the medical, rehabilitative, psychological, educational, and social needs of your child.
The team provides an initial two and a half hour assessment of your child, and then re-assesses every six months or as needed to monitor progress and to make sure all resources are in place for your family.
Our staff sends a written report including your child’s developmental progress and in-depth recommendations for service delivery to your family and the referring primary care physician. These reports can help with educational planning and early intervention.
Our team helps to keep your child’s care coordinated with all involved sub specialists working with your child, including ear, nose, and throat specialists and audiologists.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Clinic
The ADHD Clinic team diagnoses and treats school-aged children with attention difficulties.
Our team is led by a pediatrician who assesses children for ADHD. An occupational therapist evaluates visual-motor skills and helps children and their families develop organizational and study plans. A developmental educator serves as a school liaison, observes children in their classrooms, and suggests educational interventions to improve their behavior and academic performance.
This complete evaluation provides a thorough approach to each child’s symptoms and a solid foundation to diagnose and provide therapy recommendations.
