Child development services in Manawatū

You can call Child Development Services on 06 350 8293

Child Development Services is located at:

• Palmerston North Hospital
• 50 Ruahine Street
• Palmerston North 4414

8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Palmerston North Hospital department and service map [PDF, 710 KB]

We provide services for tamariki with physical, intellectual or sensory disabilities. Appointments can be in the clinic, at home or in community settings.

The child development service helps tamariki with conditions including:

• neurological conditions, for example cerebral palsy, developmental coordination disorder or dyspraxia
• developmental delay
• intellectual disability
• motor skill delay
• autism.

Neurodevelopmental therapy

Neuro-developmental therapy helps pēpi up to 2 years old who are premature or have movement issues. The team is made up of occupational therapists and physiotherapists. They:

• assess pēpi play and movements to identify how this impacts their development
• give whānau ideas on how to support pēpi learn, move and develop.

Speech language therapy

Our speech language therapists:

• diagnose, treat, and manage swallowing problems in pēpi and tamariki
• work with picky eaters to help improve the variety of foods they eat.

Psychology

We contract external psychology service providers to complete assessments where there are queries about intellectual disability or autism.

Autism coordinator

Our autism coordinator links whānau in with information, and supports and services, which align with their priorities for their tamariki and rangatahi.

We work with whānau of tamariki and rangatahi aged 0 to 19 years old, who have been diagnosed with autism in the last 12 months. We also work with those that have moved to the region in the last 12 months, even if their diagnosis was more than 12 months ago

Occupational therapy

Our occupational therapist works with tamariki and whānau around the development of their:

• day-to-day life skills
• fine motor skills
• sensory and perception skills.

Social worker

Our social worker supports whānau and caregivers in meeting their own needs and challenges while caring for a tamaiti with developmental needs.

Physiotherapist

Our physiotherapists work with whānau and tamariki to support:

• motor development
• participation in activities
• quality of life improvement.

Child Development Service coordinator

Our Child Development Service coordinator:

• manages Child Development Service referrals
• makes sure the right professionals are involved in the care of tamariki
• supports whānau with their questions, concerns and follow-up actions.

The Child Development Service accepts referrals from:

• health services
• education services
• community agencies.

All referrals must be made with the consent and knowledge of the parent or caregiver.

How to make a referral

To make a referral to the service you can email cdsreferrals@midcentraldhb.govt.nz

You can also write to:

• Child Development Services
• Palmerston North Hospital
• Private Bag 11036
• Palmerston North 4442

Include as much information as possible about the developmental concerns and the input required from our service.

New referrals are discussed by our team to check we are the right service to help. We will let you know as soon as we accept a referral.