Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment
Neurodevelopmental Care That Brings Out the Best in Your Child
Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment is the St. Louis region’s home for children’s neurodevelopmental care. The center was designed and built to serve kids with autism spectrum disorder and other behavioral and developmental conditions. It’s a place where every child can flourish, and every family feels supported.
Highlights of our state-of-the-art center include:
- 43,000 square feet of space, serving more than double the children and adolescents than the previous center
- An advanced autism diagnostics room, enabling same-day evaluations
- A large therapy gym
- Observation technologies for parents
- A modern applied behavioral analysis (ABA) classroom, comfort tools and calming spaces
- A feeding kitchen and a feeding therapy room
- A private indoor motor skills room
- Space for expanded programs and services
Our highly experienced physicians, therapists and other professionals work together to bring out the best in your child. They provide the compassionate, personalized care you need to navigate your child’s condition and help them reach their full potential.
Nearly 20% of American children experience life-altering developmental, learning or behavioral challenges, including autism, attention or learning disorders and related conditions.
Conditions We Evaluate and Treat
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Developmental delays
- Feeding and swallowing disorders
- Cognitive development issues, such as difficulty with thinking, reasoning and problem-solving
- Learning differences, such as difficulty with reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia) or math (dyscalculia)
- Motor skills delays and coordination issues
- Social communication disorder
- Speech and language conditions, such as articulation delays, difficulty with expressive or receptive language and stuttering
- Tic disorders
- Torticollis (stiff or twisted neck) and plagiocephaly (misshapen head)
Your Neurodevelopment Care Team
Our team-based approach allows us to deliver the comprehensive care your child needs to grow and thrive. Depending on your child’s diagnosis, your care team may include:
- Applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapists, technicians and analysts
- Cleft lip/palate and craniofacial deformities team
- Consulting pediatric specialist physicians
- Feeding and lactation consultants
- Occupational and physical therapists
- Speech-language pathologists
- Psychologists
- Registered dietitians
Pediatric Neurodevelopment Services
Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment provides all the care and services your child needs under one roof.
Every child develops at their own pace, and your child’s pediatrician or primary care doctor will check for developmental delays during well visits. If your child shows signs of delays, they may be referred to Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment for evaluation.
Same-Day Evaluations and Diagnosis
Our integrated care teams and services allow us to evaluate your child for autism spectrum disorder and talk through the results with you the same day, so you’re not left waiting for answers.
Treatment
We develop a personalized care plan tailored to your child’s unique needs and abilities. It may include behavioral, emotional, physical, speech and other therapies and support services. Medications may also be recommended to manage the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.
Follow-Up Care
We maximize your child’s long-term success through follow-up care, ongoing therapies and support services.
ABA therapy helps kids with neurodevelopmental conditions learn new skills, strengthen communication and build behaviors that support success in daily life. Mercy Kids autism therapists work closely with kids and their families to support continued progress.
Kids with neurodevelopmental disorders often have challenges with emotional regulation, sensory processing and adapting to changes. This can sometimes lead to anxiety and other behavioral health conditions.
Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment connects you with behavioral health professionals who can help your child build coping skills and enjoy a better quality of life.
Neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and other disorders can cause feeding and swallowing challenges for kids. Children may have sensory sensitivities to certain food textures or temperatures, leading to persistent food selectivity or refusal. For some kids, brain cells that control mouth or tongue function misfire, creating swallowing issues.
Our feeding team helps families address concerns with eating, chewing, and swallowing to help kids get the nutrients they need to grow.
Infant Feeding Therapy With Lactation Support
We also offer specialized infant feeding therapy paired with lactation support for babies who:
- Are born prematurely or at a low birth weight
- Have difficulty sucking
- Can’t coordinate the suck-swallow-breathe pattern
- Cough or gag during feeding
- Aren’t gaining enough weight
Babies who need NICU care ― especially those who are born too early or with complications ― are at higher risk for neurodevelopmental issues and developmental delays.
At Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment, we’ve expanded our NICU follow-up care to support kids from discharge through their school years. Early intervention and ongoing care give these children the best chance to reach critical developmental milestones.
Our registered dietitians educate you and your child on maintaining a well-rounded, nutritious diet and healthy body weight. They’ll help you identify foods and strategies that support your family’s dietary goals. They also offer helpful tips for adapting to the food preferences of kids with autism.
Mercy Kids occupational therapists help kids build skills they’ll need every day to engage in normal life as much as possible. They develop personalized therapy plans to support fine motor skills, sensory processing, feeding and more.
Our experts can fit your child with custom orthotic devices, such as splints, braces and casts, to help improve their range of motion, mobility and physical development. These devices bring comfort to kids with a variety of developmental and orthopedic conditions.
Mercy Kids physical therapists help kids reach age-appropriate goals related to balance, coordination, posture and more. They’re experts at providing therapy that supports kids with a wide range of developmental delays and pediatric conditions, such as torticollis (stiff or twisted neck) and plagiocephaly (misshapen head).
If your child has difficulty making and maintaining friendships, relating to peers or family members or starting conversations or activities with peers, this group program can help. Kids of all ages, from pre-kindergarten through high school, meet weekly to practice these skills.
Mercy Kids speech-language pathologists provide therapies that support kids with a variety of conditions, such as articulation delays, difficulty with expressive or receptive language and stuttering.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Some kids with autism and other conditions are nonverbal, or it may be difficult to understand their speech. We help these children discover other ways to communicate besides talking. This may include gestures, sign language, picture boards or augmentative communication devices.
Connect With Our Team
To schedule an evaluation or learn more about our care, Contact Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment.