Staff: Paediatricians, Paediatric Registrars, Neurologist, Rehabilitation Physician, General Practitioner with Special Interest (GPwSI)

These clinics involve a specialist doctor looking at your young person's health, development, learning, behaviour and wellbeing.

There is high demand and long waiting times for this public Paediatric Service. When your referral is accepted, we will give you an estimated waiting time, but this may change. If your concerns about your child change while you are waiting, please contact us to talk about next steps. You can also ask your GP to use DevPaed Connect to get specialist advice while you wait.

Some families choose to see a private paediatrician instead, using a referral from their GP. If you no longer need our service, please let us know so we can remove you from the waitlist.

If your main concerns are about your child’s behaviour or mental health, we recommend talking with your GP. Your GP can help decide if another service may be more suitable, such as a psychologist, parenting support service, or mental health provider.

• Speech Pathology Clinic (0-Prep Entry) - Helps children with talking, understanding language, or communication.
• Physiotherapy Clinic (0-Prep Entry) - Helps children with movement, balance and strength.
• Occupational Therapy Clinic (0-Prep Entry) - Helps children with everyday skills such as playing, eating, dressing and using their hands.

Please note, our service will help with diagnosis for your child, but we have LIMITED capacity for therapy - we help you to find this support locally in your community.

Staff: Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Psychologist with additional support from Dietitian and Paediatrician (once per month). Your child will see the team members who best match their needs and may not see everyone.

The CDS Mealtime Clinic supports young children with serious or complex mealtime difficulties. The team works together to understand your child’s eating challenges and what support may help.

Most care is provided by allied health clinicians. After assessment, children are supported in different ways depending on their needs.

After assessment, your child will be guided to the most suitable support. This may include:

• Short-term support through the CDS Mealtime Clinic, or
• Referral to another service, either within Gold Coast Health or in the community

Navigating the Maze of Mealtime – Carer Education Session

The Mealtime Clinic regularly runs a 2-hour education session for caregivers. The session:

• Shares helpful information about common mealtime challenges
• Teaches practical strategies to support children at home
• Provides early guidance while families are waiting for a clinic appointment

Any caregiver of a child with mealtime difficulties is welcome to attend, even if their child is not currently accepted into the Mealtime Clinic.

To register, please phone (07) 5687 9183 (Press Option 2).

Please note: There is high demand and long waiting times for this public Mealtime Service. When your referral is accepted, we will provide an estimated waiting time, but this may change based on clinical needs and service demand.  If your child’s mealtime concerns change while you are waiting, please contact our Intake Officer to discuss further.

Alternatively, some families choose to seek mealtime support through private providers (fees usually apply). There may be funded programs or rebates available to help cover costs. Please speak with your GP or contact our service if you would like more information.

Staff: Paediatrician, Paediatric Registrars, Psychologist, Social Worker, Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapists

The CDS Multidisciplinary Clinic supports young people with more complex developmental or behavioural concerns. This may include difficulties in more than two areas of development, or situations where it is helpful for a team of professionals to work together to support the young person and family.

Staff: Paediatrician, General Practitioner with Special Interest (GPwSI), Psychologist, Psychology Student, Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Nurses, Pharmacist.

The CDS Futures Clinic provides a multidisciplinary coordinated diagnostic assessment process for young people over the age of 6 years, presenting with developmental and/or learning concerns. You will have an initial appointment with one of our team members, who will determine which extra assessments and supports are required for your young person.

Concerns around possible Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common presentation to this clinic. These children are typically seen by our GPs with Special Interests initially, with aim to provide assessment and commence on possible intervention (medications) before discharging the family back to their GP. A small percentage of children with ADHD may also require additional assessments by our Allied Health team.

Staff: Paediatricians, Clinical Neuropsychologists, Speech Pathologists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Clinic Coordinator (Social Worker support available if required)

The CDS Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Clinic provides diagnostic assessment for young people who present with pre-natal exposure to alcohol and concerns around development, learning and/or behaviour. Services provided will be dependent on multiple factors including a child’s age, current developmental and/or behavioural concerns and the severity of concerns.

The clinic provides assessment for both young people and families that live within the Gold Coast Health area, as well as accepting referrals from other Child Development Service, Paediatricians and/or GPs for children that reside within Queensland (and occasionally other states).

The level of support provided to those families outside of Gold Coast Area, will depend on local area services and supports that are available, and may range from providing clinical guidance to a treating local therapist, providing joint assessments, or completing full FASD diagnostic assessment.

FASD Clinic Gold Coast also provides education training to other clinicians interested in learning more about FASD diagnosis, assessment and intervention.

Please note: There is significant demand and waiting times for this publicly funded FASD Diagnostic Service. We will be able to provide you with an approximate waiting time at the time of acceptance, although it may vary. If you believe that your concerns for your child have changed since the initial referral, please contact us to discuss further.

Staff: Paediatrician, Clinical Neuropsychologist, Speech Pathologist, Psychologist, Occupational Therapist (access to Physiotherapist and Social Worker are available if required).

CDS in late 2021, in collaboration with Norfolk Village State School (NVSS), established the first Health-Education Hub. The clinic accepts referrals directly from schools for developmental assessment of students that present with complex developmental/learning concerns.