South East Cork City Children's Disability Network Team

Provides services to children from birth to 18 with complex needs who live in the areas of Douglas, Blackrock, Mahon and Passage West.

Children's Disability Network Team

Children's Services

Cork

Introduction to the service

Enable Ireland has provided disability services in Cork for over 60 years. Enable Ireland is the lead agency for three of the ten Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT’s) in Cork. The Children’s Disability Network Teams have been set up as part of the national Progressing Disability Services (PDS) Programme. The three teams are located at the Lavanagh Centre in Curraheen and provide supports and services for 1,500 children and young people with complex disabilities and their families.

The Children’s Disability Network Teams in Network 11, 12 and 14 are the providers of services for children and young people 0-18 with complex difficulties in functional skills and/or applied skill sets required for activities of daily living, learning new skills and social interactions. This may involve physical, social, emotional, communication and behavioural domains.

Criteria to access Children’s Disability Network Team services under the lead agency Enable Ireland include the age of the child, their home address and that the child will have complex needs.

About Progressing Disability Services

The HSE, in partnership with Enable Ireland, Brothers of Charity Services Ireland, St Joseph’s Foundation, Co Action and COPE Foundation, have established one unified regional network service of 14 Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) for the Cork Kerry Region. The ‘Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People’ Programme aims to achieve a national unified approach to delivering children’s disability health services. The central focus of this programme is to provide one clear pathway to services for each child and family with complex needs within their local area.

Video Summary

A recorded presentation with information on Progressing Disability Services and the services provided by the Enable Ireland-led CDNTs based in the Lavanagh Centre.

Video Summary

Introduction to Enable Ireland Children's Services at the Lavanagh centre

FAQs

How do I make a referral to one of these teams?

Children aged from birth to 18 years may be referred for services.

If you have a concern about a child’s development, ‘Children’s Services Referral Form’ can be completed by parents/legal guardians, health and social care professionals, GPs, education professionals, assessment of need officers or case managers. The completed forms can be sent to their local Children’s Disability Network Team. It is essential that signed parental consent is recorded on the referral form.

A referral can be made by a healthcare professional. Or you can make the referral yourself.

To do this:

Complete the Children’s Services Referral Form (PDF, 106 KB, 11 pages)
Complete an Additional Information Form for your child

The Additional Information Form lets you describe your child and what your concerns are. It will help to refer them to the right service for them.

Complete the Additional Information Form for children aged:

These forms allow all CDNTs and disciplines/services to accept and prioritise referrals on a consistent and equitable basis.

If you are a parent and would like further help with the referral forms, please phone your local team and we will assist you.

Who is the service for?

Children aged from birth to 18 years with complex needs who live in the areas of Douglas, Blackrock, Mahon and Passage West.

How are services delivered in Children’s Disability Network Teams?

Services are delivered through an Interdisciplinary Team. This is a group of different health professionals that work together and in partnership with the child and their family. The child and family are key members of this team. Depending on a child’s need, members of the child’s team may include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, psychology and social work. There are other disciplines on the team that can be accessed if a need is identified.

The team will provide supports for the child across a variety of settings including the home, education settings such as pre-school or school, community settings or within the CDNT centre.

The CDNT’s operate through a Family-Centred Practice model. This is an approach that focuses on the whole family and not just the child requiring support. It ensures that the family's priorities are considered when settling goals with the family.

All families that have a child attending the CDNT will have a keyworker. The keyworker will be named contact and act as a link between the family and the team. They will support families with any queries they may have about their service.

All families attending the CDNT will have an Individual Family Support Plan (IFSP). This is an agreed plan that identifies the child and family’s goals and priorities. The IFSP will also describe supports needed to achieve these goals. The IFSP looks at and documents the child’s strengths and achievements since the last plan was completed. As children grow and develop the goals on their IFSP will change with them.