Meet the Team at the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome  

Dr. Fran Hickey, developmental
pediatrician and medical director
of the Sie Center, accepts an 
award with his son James who
has Down syndrome.

The team at the Sie Center includes a variety of professionals committed to the highest quality of care for kids and young adults with Down syndrome. During your visit to the Sie Center at Children's Hospital Colorado, your child and family will see one or more of the following experts:

Developmental Pediatrician/Nurse Practitioner

Developmental pediatricians and nurse practitioners are the experts who will evaluate your child and provide treatment recommendations for Down syndrome. To perform a complete evaluation, they use information obtained during your visit to the Sie Center and from other sources, such as medical records, input from your child’s physicians, educational records, and records from psychologists, occupational and physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists.

The developmental pediatrician or nurse practitioner will review the medical and developmental assessment, along with current recommendations, to coordinate care and maximize your child’s health and abilities. 

Meet our developmental pediatrician: Dr. Fran Hickey, medical director of the Sie Center

Meet our certified pediatric nurse practitioner: Dee Daniels, RN, CPNP, program director of the Sie Center

Physical Therapist

Pat Winders, physical therapist and
part of the multidisciplinary care team
at the Sie Center, works with a child
with Down syndrome.

Because of certain physical characteristics like low muscle tone, lax ligaments and decreased strength, a child with Down syndrome does not develop gross motor skills in the same way as the typically-developing child. A physical therapist evaluates and makes treatment recommendations for such concerns as gross motor skill development, foot management, strengthening exercises and posture.

Over the long term, a physical therapist will help the child develop good posture, proper foot alignment, an efficient walking pattern and a good physical foundation for exercise throughout life. Read an article about the goal of physical therapy for children with Down syndrome, written by our Senior Physical Therapist, Patricia Winders.  

Speech-Language Pathologist

A speech-language pathologist has the information and expertise to help address the speech and language problems faced by many children with Down syndrome. Most children with Down syndrome will be delayed in acquiring speech and language skills (especially expressive skills). This frustration with making their needs known may lead to behavioral issues.

Because children with Down syndrome are usually better at understanding others than expressing themselves verbally, speech therapy is a great way to treat speech sound production disorders (pronunciation) problems, giving these children a chance to better communicate with others. A speech-language pathologist will provide resources and demonstrate methods and at-home activities to help a child master new speech and language skills.

Social Worker

A social worker assists families in coping with the social, emotional, financial and psychological concerns associated with having a child with Down syndrome. A social worker can act as a liaison between the patient, family, health care team and community agencies.

Consultants

An occupational therapist specializes in sensory issues for children with Down syndrome. This includes sensory integration related to daily living skills (feeding, dressing, self-care, play and leisure activities), fine motor skills, visual motor skills and visual perception, as well as social skill concerns. An occupational therapist assesses the unique needs of a child with Down syndrome, provides assessment, consultation, treatment recommendations and acts as a liaison between the patient, family, health care and school team within the community.

A registered dietitian works with feeding therapists and families to achieve optimal nutrition when feeding problems are present. The dietitian also helps children with Down syndrome with weight management issues and maintaining a desirable weight.

A speech-language pathologist who specializes in feeding and swallowing disorders is also available when there is concern about a child’s delays in oral-motor or oral-sensory development, oral intake, food refusal, picky eating, poor weight gain, and/or swallowing problems.

Subspecialists at Children's Hospital Colorado

At the Sie Center, your child receives a full spectrum of care from experts right within our hospital. In addition to the team members mentioned above, we also partner with The Aerodigestive Program, The Breathing Institute, The Heart Institute, The Neurosciences Institute, The Department of Endocrinology, The Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and The Department of Otolaryngology.