Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston

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	Our Mission The mission of the Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston is to help individuals with Down syndrome reach his or her fullest potential. We accomplish our goal by offering a clinic where children receive complete evaluations by a multidisciplinary team. Families will obtain needed strategies for management of common concerns.

As one of the specialized patient care centers of Texas Children’s Hospital, the Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston provides services that help ensure the healthy development of children with Down syndrome.

The clinic supplements your child’s primary-care physician’s routine medical care with assessments and individualized treatments from a variety of experts who specialize in working with the unique needs and abilities of young patients with Down syndrome.

Referrals are welcome as soon as infancy or as late as age 18.

The first step at the clinic will be a thorough evaluation of your child’s current medical and developmental status by a developmental pediatrician with the Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics.

Other team members guide you to resources designed to help you nurture the best abilities in your child with Down syndrome. These include:

• Physical, occupational and speech therapists from Texas Children’s devise home and school therapies.

• A coordinator streamlines any recommended referrals to specialists, sharing relevant medical history to help ensure proper diagnoses and treatment.

• Social workers guide families to community resources and further support.

Our team

• Developmental Pediatrician
  Kathryn K. Ostermaier, M.D.

• Social Worker
  Carmen Dickerson, LCSW

• Physical Therapist
  Meredith Ford, PT, DPT

• Occupational Therapist
  Kim Wright, OTR/LOT

• Speech Therapist
  April Brackett, MS, CCC-SLP
  Lauren Neff, MA, CCC-SLP

• Clinic Coordination
  Eva Acosta, Ambulatory Services Representative II

• Practice Manger
  Scott Burk

Innovative care
If your child’s medical needs require care outside the Down Syndrome Clinic, a patient is referred, when possible, to Texas Children’s doctors who are experienced in working with Down syndrome children. Frequent referrals involve these departments:

• Cardiology

• Endocrinology

• Gastroenterology/Nutrition

• Genetics/Genetic Counseling

• Otolaryngology (ENT)

• Ophthalmology

The Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston will work with these specialists to follow the appropriate Health Maintenance Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Collaborating with physicians
The Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston works with health care providers throughout Houston, and beyond. If you are a doctor or other health care professional, call on us for guidance to the most appropriate specialized referrals for your patients with Down syndrome.

A message for parents
Parents’ first knowledge that their child has Down syndrome can be worrisome. But as parents of Texas Children’s patients eagerly testify, the special abilities of their children far outshine their limitations.

At the Down Syndrome Clinic of Houston, we help families nurture their son or daughter’s best qualities so their children can develop their own special gifts.

For an appointment
While most clinic patients are referred by primary-care doctors (health care plans usually require a written referral), others come independently. Call the clinic for details at 832-822-3418.