Health visitor

Also called Specialist community public health nurse (health visiting). That is the name used in diagnostic manuals and on most official paperwork.

A health visitor is a nurse or midwife with extra training who works with families from pregnancy until a child turns five. They do the development reviews and you can contact them directly.

Applies across the UK

Health visitors are specialist community public health nurses, registered midwives or nurses. They specialise in working with families with a child aged 0 to five, to identify health needs as early as possible. They run the routine development reviews and give advice on feeding, sleep, behaviour and development.

How you get to see one: you do not need a referral referral When a professional passes your child on to a specialist team for assessment or treatment. A GP, school or health visitor can usually make one. Read the full definition of referral . Contact your local health visiting team through your GP GP Your family doctor. For many families the GP is the first person to talk to, and the person who refers your child on to a specialist. Read the full definition of GP surgery, children's centre or local NHS trust. If your child is not school age, a health visitor may be the person who makes the referral for an autism assessment.

Can they diagnose? No. They spot concerns early, offer support, and refer on.

What to ask: whether they can refer directly to the neurodevelopmental pathway Neurodevelopmental pathway The local NHS route for assessing children for autism, ADHD and similar differences. The name and the way it works change from area to area. Read the full definition of Neurodevelopmental pathway or to speech and language therapy, and what support is available locally now.

Related words

Where this comes from

Back to the glossary

Your child doesn't need a diagnosis to get support

Start with a profile of your child. See what we find. Go from there.

Check your inbox to confirm