For Medical Professionals

The SVDSN Parents First Call Program provides support and up-to-date information through trained volunteers.

Below, please find both prenatal and postnatal referral forms that allows you, as a healthcare provider, to connect your patients with a trained SVDSN volunteer, so we can better support your patient.

Prenatal Referral Form 

Postnatal Referral Form

Supporting parents of children with Down syndrome is at the core of SVDSN’s mission. One way we do this is by reaching out to medical professionals — doctors, nurses, genetic counselors, social workers, and others — to assist them, beginning when the diagnosis is delivered and continuing throughout their child's lifespan.  We recommend the following resources:

Center for Down Syndrome at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

The Center for Down Syndrome at Stanford Children’s Health helps each child with Down syndrome reach his or her full potential and function as independently as possible in all aspects of school and family life. Stanford Children's is one of the few children’s hospitals in the nation to offer these much-needed services. 

Charlie's Clinic (aka Down Syndrome) Clinic at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital 

The Down Syndrome Clinic at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary visits aimed at gathering a “whole picture” of your child. Each visit with Dr. Noemi Spinazzi, a physician experienced in the care of children with Down syndrome, includes a thorough review of the child’s medical history, with a focus on the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.

Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network

DSDN provides medical providers the tools and resources needed to discuss Down syndrome in a way that is supportive and educational.

Best Practices for health care professionals delivering a prenatal or postnatal diagnosis by Dr. Brian Skotko, M.D., M.P.P., Children's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts.

The Lettercase National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources provides accurate, up-to-date, balanced, and medically-reviewed information to health  care professionals, including in connection with delivering a diagnosis of Down syndrome. You may also want to direct new and expectant parents to this website for information.

Clinical Report – Health Supervision for Children With Down Syndrome – these guidelines are designed to assist the pediatrician in caring for the child in whom a diagnosis of Down syndrome has been confirmed by chromosome analysis. Although a pediatrician’s initial contact with the child is usually during infancy, occasionally the pregnant woman who has been given a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome will be referred for review of the condition with a genetic counselor. Therefore, this report offers guidance for this situation as well.

Proactive primary healthcare is essential to helping people with Down syndrome achieve their full potential.  Healthcare Guidelines have been adopted by the Down Syndrome Medical Special Interest Group. 

Adult Down Syndrome Center at Advocate Health Carer in Park Ridge, Illinois, serves the medical and psychosocial needs of teens and adults with Down syndrome. As a comprehensive medical resource, they provide patients everything from holistic care and support to education and resources in a compassionate, welcoming environment. Their resource library is very useful. 

Research

Down Syndrome Research Center at Stanford School of Medicine. The center's overarching goals are to understand how the triplication of genes on human chromosome 21 influences the biology and the health of individuals with Down syndrome and to develop means of mitigating those effects.

National Down Syndrome Society. Learn about Down syndrome-related research and ongoing clinical trials.

Thank you for taking time to research options that will help you provide individuals with Down syndrome and their families the information, resources, and support they need.