What to do before your appointment
Planning ahead and being prepared helps ease the way and decrease your wait.
If you are seeing any specialists or therapists outside the Boston Children's Hospital network, we ask that you complete release of records forms so that we may incorporate their services into our evaluation. By doing this, we are able to tailor your appointment specifically to your needs. There may be additional insurance forms for you to complete before your visit.
What will the appointment be like?
The length of the visit and the services you receive will depend on what your specific needs are. For example, you may meet with:
- a geneticist and/or a genetic counselor who can answer any questions and provide information about fragile X syndrome
- a developmental-behavioral pediatrician from the Developmental Medicine Center, who will review and provide developmental, behavioral, and educational input
- occupational therapists who will perform an evaluation to determine whether there are specific occupational therapy needs (sensory integration, activities of daily living, etc.) that need to be addressed
In general, appointments for families new to the program will be scheduled for 90 minutes with the physicians and one to two hours with occupational therapy.
Should your child have medical concerns, such as seizures, a neurologist is available to discuss testing and treatment. Appointments with the Department of Neurology will be scheduled as needed. In addition, a psychopharmacologist is available to discuss the use of medications for the management of behavioral or emotional problems. Referrals to other medical specialists depending on the needs of your child can be made.
How to make an appointment
If you have not been to Boston Children's before, please call the Genetics Clinic at 617-355-6394 to schedule an appointment. A referral from your pediatrician or specialist will be required. Your clinician can also make a referral to the clinic, and the scheduler will contact you to get all the appropriate information. Returning patients should contact the Genetics Clinic at 617-355-6394.