Multidisciplinary clinic for persons with Down syndrome in the south of Israel

In the year 2000 it was decided to establish a monthly clinic for children with Down syndrome bom at the Soroka University Medical Center in the south of Israel. This clinic was established at the Zussman Child Development Center of the Division of Pediatrics at the Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, where a multidisciplinary team follows all children referred from the medical center or from other professionals. The primary goal is to arrange follow-up and coordination of the treatment of these children at the medical center and function as a resource and information for parents, primary physicians or allied professionals in the field. The second goal is to make sure that these children are receiving the support that the community and welfare services should give them according to the law. In the past five years we have followed 166 children (age 0-13 years) with Down syndrome and this paper presents the work, the rationale behind and a profile of these children.