By calling Health Link at 811, Albertans with concerns about their child’s development — including speech, movement and hearing — can be redirected to the new Pediatric Rehabilitation Line and speak with an occupational therapist or another appropriate allied health professional.
The Pediatric Rehabilitation Line provides advice to parents and caregivers of infants, children and youth (birth to 18 years) who have concerns about developmental milestones in areas such as:
- Moving and playing (e.g., crawling, walking, coordination, playing with toys, using utensils).
- Talking and listening (e.g., babbling, using words and sentences, speech sounds, understanding directions, stuttering, voice quality).
- Taking care of self (e.g., dressing, toileting, sleeping).
- Managing emotions (e.g., calming self, becoming overwhelmed or overstimulated).
- Difficulty eating or swallowing (e.g., coughing, gagging).
- Hearing (e.g., responding to sounds, noise, voices, words).
The Pediatric Rehabilitation Line can also help callers who are looking for local services and/or current rehabilitation resources (e.g., links to information or webinars), or need support to help a child or youth recover from COVID-19.
More details can be found on AHS website.