Healthcare Professionals

If your child has a disability, it is likely that they will meet a variety of healthcare professionals. This page attempts to list a range of them and explain what they do. It also has information on how to find out if your health professional is registered.

• Audiologist

• Dietitian

• Occupational therapist (OT)

• Orthotist

• Physiotherapist

• Consultant

• Social worker (from the Children with Disabilities Team)

• Speech & language therapist (SALT)

Audiologist
Audiology is an area of speciality dealing with the assessment and rehabilitation of patients with hearing and balance disorders. It covers a wide age range starting with newborn hearing screening for infants and progressing through to hearing screening at schools and all the way up to age-related hearing and balance disorders. A typical day for an Audiologist working in the Community involves assessments of hearing loss, fitting of hearing aids and follow-ups. Conducting an assessment of hearing loss is the first step in the patient pathway, which involves determining if a patient referred by the GP has any underlying hearing problems. The results are then discussed with the patient before agreeing on a treatment plan that suits their needs.

Dietitian
Dietitians are qualified health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat diet and nutrition problems at an individual and wider public health level. Uniquely, dietitians use the most up-to-date public health and scientific research on food, health, and disease, which they translate into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices.
Dietitians work in the NHS, private practice, industry, education, research, sport, media, public relations, publishing, NGOs, and government. Their advice influences food and health policy across the spectrum from government, local communities, and individuals.
Most people will be able to see a Registered Dietitian within the NHS after being referred by an NHS GP, doctor, health visitor, or other medical staff. You can also self-refer.

Occupational therapist (OT)
Occupational therapists work with people who have a physical disability, a medical condition, a mental health difficulty, or a learning disability. They help individuals who have difficulties with everyday tasks, such as preparing a meal, taking a bath, going upstairs, or lifting their legs into bed.
The aim of occupational therapy is to enable individuals to live as independently as possible, whether at home, at work, or at school/college. The occupational therapist can help individuals adapt to changes in their everyday life and overcome practical problems. They may do this by providing advice, recommending ways an everyday task can be done differently, or recommending equipment or alterations for an individual’s home.
Occupational therapists work in health, social care, or private practice and work closely with health, housing, and educational services.
If you qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant towards the cost of adapting your home, an occupational therapist is involved in the assessment process.
To enquire about an assessment with an occupational therapist, contact your local social services. You can obtain their contact details by entering your postcode on the Directgov website.
Alternatively, if you wish to obtain private assessment or advice, you can search for a private occupational therapist on the College of Occupational Therapy’s online directory of independent occupational therapists.

Orthotist
Orthotists provide a range of splints, braces, and special footwear to aid movement, correct deformity, and relieve discomfort. They work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to provide integrated treatment.
Orthotists provide orthotic management for people with a wide range of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, diabetes, and strokes.
Orthotists assess the patient’s needs, diagnose the problem, and treat the patient by prescribing the most suitable orthosis (a device to support or control part of the body) to meet these requirements. They work alongside Physiotherapists to ensure all needs are met around equipment in the home and school.

Physiotherapist
Physiotherapists have specialist skills in the physical treatment and rehabilitation of people. Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function to as near normal as possible when someone is affected by injury, illness, or by developmental or other disabilities.
Physiotherapists use a number of different techniques including manipulation and mobilization, massage, hydrotherapy, exercise programs, electrotherapy (e.g., ultrasound), and in some cases acupuncture.
Chartered physiotherapists work in a variety of settings including hospitals, health centres, GP practices, schools, workplaces, private clinics, and also by visiting people at home.

Social worker (Children with Disabilities Team)
Social workers are professionally qualified staff who assess the needs of service users and plan the individual packages of care and support that best help them. Social workers form partnerships with people: helping them to assess and interpret the problems they face, and supporting them in finding solutions. They have to know how the law works and be fully up to speed with the social welfare system.
Social workers liaise regularly with other professionals – teachers, doctors, nurses, police, lawyers – acting on behalf of the people they are working with.
Roles include providing assistance and advice to keep families together; working in children’s homes; managing adoption and foster care processes; providing support to younger people leaving care or who are at risk or in trouble with the law; or helping children who have problems at school or are facing difficulties brought on by illness in the family.
Most social workers are employed by a local government social services department, but they also work for local education authorities, hospital trusts, and charities.
You may be asked early in your child’s life whether you would like access to a Social Worker. This will be assigned by the ‘Children with Disabilities Team’ and is not your typical Social Worker; they are assigned to help assist you in caring for your child safely at home. They can assess the child’s movements around the home, whether they require adaptations, and provide a ‘carer’s assessment’ to ensure you are supported in your role as a parent carer.

Speech & language therapist (SALT)
The role of a speech and language therapist (SALT) is to assess and treat speech, language, and communication problems in people of all ages to enable them to communicate to the best of their ability. They may also work with people who have eating and swallowing problems.
SALTs assist children and adults who have the following types of problems: difficulty producing and using speech; difficulty understanding language; difficulty using language; difficulty with feeding, chewing, or swallowing; a stammer; a voice problem.
SALTs work in a variety of settings, these include: hospitals (both inpatients and outpatients), community health centres, mainstream and special schools, assessment units and day centres, clients’ homes.
Most speech and language therapists work for the NHS. If you think you or your child needs to see a speech and language therapist, ask your GP, district nurse, health visitor, or your child’s nursery staff or teacher for a referral. You can also refer yourself to your local speech and language therapy service. You do not have to wait for someone else to refer you.