Neurometabolic Clinic

The Neurometabolic Clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), is a specialist clinic for children with metabolic disorders.  The clinic aims to work closely with specialist metabolic, paediatric and local services, to provide advice and support for parents and professionals and to promote the child’s full developmental potential.

The Neurometabolic Clinic team has specialist expertise in understanding and promoting the development of children with neurometabolic disorders.

We see children with disorders of the metabolic system, in whom there are concerns about neurological complications and learning. These complications may range through communication and language, learning, social relationships, behaviour or movement problems and educational issues. There may be concerns about the child’s attention or memory, reading/spelling or mathematical or handwriting skills, for example.

Children from preschool to 16-17 years can be referred to the clinic.

Children are generally referred by the hospital consultant or the local paediatrician. We work closely with consultants in the Metabolic Department at GOSH.

Appointments usually last half a day. Members of the local team are encouraged to attend with the family where appropriate.

After you have received an appointment, your child will be called for an assessment. The assessment lasts up to three and a half hours. Initially, time is spent talking to the parents to learn about the child’s medical and developmental history and current behaviour, and to understand their concerns and questions. The assessment will then follow with parents closely involved, if the children are younger.

The assessment of development will then follow and a range of assessments are carried out, which aim to find out the child's level of ability and explore any behavioural issues. This may include a neurological examination, standard tests of development and learning and play-based assessments.

At the end of the assessment, the team will spend a short time together to consider the findings of the assessment and to devise a plan of guidance.

A full discussion with parents, and local professionals if present, then takes place and follow-up arrangements are agreed. Older children are brought fully into the discussion too, where appropriate.

Parents are given a brief typed summary of the findings and recommendations and, within three weeks, a full report is sent out to the parents and, with their permission, to an agreed circulation list.

The Neurometabolic Clinic team comprises a consultant paediatrician (Neurodisability), consultant clinical psychologist/neuropsychologist, clinical psychologists, occupational therapist and speech and language therapist.

You can contact the Neurometabolic Clinic on 020 7405 9200 ext 1142.