Developmental pediatrician
We’re looking for developmental pediatrician recs for our toddler, who’s exhibiting behavioral issues that our regular pediatrician can’t help with. Finding someone has been surprisingly difficult: existing BPN posts and the list our pediatrician gave us are outdated; the UCSF office is currently closed (?!?); and the Stanford office has a 6 month waitlist, which we’re on.
We’d love to find a doctor that takes insurance, but at this point we’re desperate and will take any suggestions. Our kiddo has already been assessed for delays (none) and their issues fall outside the scope of OTs and other similar providers we’ve looked into. We’re hoping that a developmental pediatrician will help us get a clearer picture of what’s going on and point us to the right resources to help our kid.
Parent Replies
Marianne Eraklis in Orinda (DB Pediatrics) is a wonderful developmental pediatrician. Highly recommend her. Unfortunately she doesn't take insurance.
Hi there! UCSF Children's Hospital Mission Bay definitely has a bustling developmental medicine clinic - find more info here: https://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/clinics/developmental-medicine-clinic
I work in an adjacent pediatric specialty at Mission Bay and I think the team is excellent, particularly Shannon Lundy, but I would feel comfortable taking the first available appt w/ anyone.
Good luck!
We ended up using Dr Deanna Lau in Santa Rosa because she was rec by a friend and had space to take kids. He only has to go in person once or twice a year now that things are more settled and he’s older. We zoom for our other meetings
It is incredibly hard for families right now, given the national shortage of developmental clinicians. Sorry to hear it is impacting you!
To clarify, UCSF is not "closed" but due to a recent reduction in developmental behavioral pediatrician team size, their small team had to restrict their services to patients who are already within the UCSF pediatrics care system and who meet criteria for referral, but they are working on replacing them asap--it is just hard when there are so few DBPs graduating each year nationally and cost of living is so high in the Bay.
The only East Bay actively open DBP private practice I know is:
Mariana Eraklis, MD - https://www.dbped.com/
If you are able to travel farther, below are a few other practices I believe are still active.
Trenna Sutcliffe, MD, MS (Los Altos) - https://www.sutcliffeclinic.com/
Annie Berens, MD, MA (Menlo Park) - https://berensdbp.com/
Tina Gabby, MD (Marin/Corte Madera) - https://tinagabbymd.com/about
Best of luck finding what you need for your family.