What is a Developmental and Behavioral pediatrician ?
Developmental pediatricians receive sub-specialty training and certification within the field of developmental behavioral pediatrics after finishing a general pediatrics post graduation.
How can a developmental pediatrician help your child?
Developmental pediatricians are highly trained and experienced in identifying a range of developmental and behavioral differences. They can evaluate your child’s overall development, provide a diagnosis, and recommend specific treatment plans.
Developmental pediatrician often acts as an advocate during school admissions, providing documentation and support to make sure your child receives needed support and services.
Developmental pediatricians can also initiate medical evaluations or prescribe medications when appropriate. They also provide continuous and regular monitoring as a child moves through different developmental stages and educational settings, assisting with educational programming, behavioral and medical management, and often acts as a care coordinator.
Neuropsychological testing sometimes has a role, but is not always required and can be confusing to understand once completed. A developmental pediatrician can act as a long-term resource to help you make sense of all the information together into an individualized and comprehensive plan for your child.
What conditions may a developmental pediatrician typically evaluate and treat?
Developmental pediatricians are experts in the management of autistic spectrum disorders, developmental delays, learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, follow up of at risk infants and other developmental disorders, and help manage many other developmental and behavioral issues.
A Developmental pediatrician has a broad approach towards children’s health and development that encompasses knowledge from general pediatrics and child development along with child psychology, pediatric neurology and child psychiatry.
