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10.26.04, 11:27 AM Special Needs
12 replies
Recommendation for a dev ped for 2nd opinion (m) We have a neurologist that we're happy with who has seen our 2.2 year old dd three times over the last year and ruled her out for PDD. He thinks she may end up with an ADD diagnoisis down the line (but is of course much too young to medicate now). She exhibits a lot of behaviors that I would associate with sensory integration difficulties, but being a neuro and looking for hard neurological signs, our doctor doesn't really have any truck with the more fuzzy disorders -- my analogy is if you told your GI doctor that you had a sprained ankle. It's part of your overall health picture, but it kind of has nothing to do with him. So, we would like to take dd to a developmental pediatrician who would be able to look at her behaviors (toe walking, difficulty focusing, not wanting to sit still or be held in a lap, a lot of unfocused wandering and running around, climbing up on and crashing into furniture) and give us a more holistic reading than one based totally on hard neurological signs. For that reason, I don't necessarily need a dev ped who's also a neurologist. Thanks to anyone who can suggest names! [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
Special Needs 10.26.04, 11:27 AM Flag
 

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You're absolutely right about neurologists missing the mark. My ds (PDD-NOS) was seen by 3 "top" neuros and not one of them dx him as PDD (he clearly is). -m It's great that you know enough to not rely on their assessment. In my opinion, the best dev. ped. in NY is Dr. Marilyn Agin (author of "The Late Talker"). We also went to Dr. Ceci McCarton. Both have huge waiting lists (all the dev. ped's do), but you may get lucky at the McCarton clinic and get another doctor (not nec. Dr. McCarton). I've heard of people using Dr. Maureen Packard, however, no personal experience. I prefer Dr. Agin b/c she really does take a lot of time to carefully examine your child in depth and detail. She's also very warm and loving to the kids, which makes the assessment very easy on them (my ds still, after 3 years - has not caught on that "Marilyn" is his doctor). McCarton is first class too, but I just prefer Dr. Agin's demeanor and genuine interest in the kids. She also gives detailed reports with specific recommendations for treatment. AS Medical Director for EI in NYC, she's also got a lot of first hand knowledge about how to deal with the BOE and insurance companies. Dr. Agin's reports are wonderful too. I've heard complaints from BOE people about McCarton giving out "cookie cutter" reports that they don't even bother reading any more - that's how similar they all look. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.26.04, 05:13 PM Flag
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Thank you so much for your reply. (m) As a matter of fact, our neuro specifically warned us away from Dr. McCarton, saying "No matter what's going on with your child, she's going to give you an autism diagnosis." DD is very present and social and has been making some amazing strides lately in terms of both speech and behavior, so I feel very good overall about her progress; still, I would like to see what a new person makes of her. I will look into Dr. Agin and Dr. Packard (the latter has been recommended to me by someone I know, as well). Thank you again for your helpful and thoughtful post. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.26.04, 07:29 PM Flag
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Don't see McCarton unless you want an autsim diagnosis with a recommendation of 20-30 hours of ABA (m) She gives the same therapy recommendation to everyone. I agree with the above poster. Dr. Agin is WONDERFUL. She may have openings...at least get yourself on her waiting list. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.26.04, 08:29 PM Flag
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Not true. She didn't give that dx to my child or that recommendation for therapy. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.26.04, 09:57 PM Flag
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NP: Me, too. And she told us dc is not on the spectrum. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.27.04, 05:26 AM Flag
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Not true at all. I know of many people who have taken their children to her without getting that dx at all. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.27.04, 06:37 AM Flag
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I think that with borderline kids, McCarton does dx and recommend a boatload of services (to be on the safe side. Defensive medicine) I think this is a good thing - When in doubt, dx (ps, my dh is an MD and tells me that this is done all the time.) [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.27.04, 11:10 AM Flag
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better than our situation where my child was misdiagnosed (not by Dr McCarton) as *not* having pddnos and we lost a lot of time in the wrong kind of therapy and looking for the causes of his speech delay. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.27.04, 01:08 PM Flag
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Hackensack hospital (and probably most others) have a develpmental center where they have an entire team evaluation, with many different specialists at once. It's Hugh Bases at Hackensack. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.27.04, 06:04 AM Flag
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OP: Just called Dr. Agin's office and the first appt is June! I took it - but didn't realize it's $1800-2500 out of pocket. Any hope of getting reimbursed? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.28.04, 01:05 PM Flag
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Depends on your insurance. We got about 50% back - totally worth it, since enables us to get a lot of services. She's not expensive - McCarton charges more. A friend just -m- went to Yale Child Study Center and it was $5,000! In retrospect, my friend said it was a waste since they basically told her what Dr. Agin did. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 10.28.04, 04:56 PM Flag
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I took my child to Dr. Martinez a dev ped at Mount Sinai and she was fantastic. The wait list was not too long and my insurance covered the cost completely. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 06.29.13, 08:20 PM Flag
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