|
The Williams Syndrome Clinic at
The Center for Development and Learning
Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Clinic Description
The Williams Syndrome Clinic at the Center for Development and Learning (CDL) provides a comprehensive interdisci-plinary evaluation of your child’s or adolescent’s psychological, speech and language and educational functioning linked to intervention planning in order to optimize school and social experiences in all settings. The clinic is designed for individuals who already have a diagnosis of Williams syndrome.
Who is involved in the clinic?
Children and adolescents are evaluated by a psychologist, learning specialist and speech and language pathologist. The clinicians have many years of experience working with individuals with a variety of developmental disabilities and targeting interventions to meet each person’s specific needs.
How will families benefit?
Families directly benefit by receiving a comprehensive evaluation report that could be shared with other family mem-bers, teachers and/or IEP teams at the school. The report will summarize evaluation results and provide targeted in-terventions that are linked to the evaluation results. After the evaluation, clinicians will be in phone contact with fami-lies to learn how the intervention plan is working and/or if phone consultation with teachers may be beneficial. Fur-thermore, families may choose to return to the clinic within 6 months of the initial evaluation for a follow-up session to revise the intervention plan. In addition, families will indirectly benefit from research studies that are generated through the clinic; however, the primary focus is on an individualized evaluation and intervention plan for each clinic participant.
What does the clinic day look like?
While each child or adolescent is unique and will require a slightly different clinic schedule, the following is generally what families can expect:
8:00: Arrive at the CDL and receive a brief orientation to the surroundings and the day’s schedule
8:15 – 12:00: Evaluations with psychologist, learning specialist, and speech and language pathologist. At the same time, parent(s) begins interviews with each clinician. Following the interviews or during breaks, parent(s) may also observe the evaluation process through a one-way mirror.
12:00– 1:30 Families break for lunch at various restaurants nearby
1:30: Evaluation procedures resume, if necessary
2:30: Evaluation team meets to discuss evaluation results while family may take a break
3:30: Parent(s) meets with psychologist to discuss the evaluation results and initial plans for inter - vention. The child or adolescent may receive feedback as well, taking into account individual’s developmental level and understanding.
4:30: End of clinic day
Whom do I contact for more information?
Families may contact Dr. Caroline Hexdall at (919) 843-7049 or caroline.hexdall@cdl.unc.edu for more information.
|