developmental pediatrician/ autism/asperger's expert in Tysons/Vienna/Fairfax?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend a good doctor to go to for my 7 year old son? I have concerns about possible ASD/Aspergers... but would like a comprehensive and competent diagnosis. I don't particularly care of the doctor is warm/fuzzy... I just want someone good. (Warm/fuzzy is a perk!)

[Anonymous]

We see Dr. Susan Pratt--which I like, but she is not warm and fuzzy.

[Anonymous]

If you search the archives here, you will find lots and lots of recommendations, but not many in that geographic area. (That's where I live, too, though, and driving for a diagnosis isn't a big deal. This is someone you will see every few months, max, probably, so it's okay if s/he isn't in your backyard.)

Many people see a developmental pediatrician for a thorough evaluation. The most commonly recommended are Dan Shapiro and Chuck Conlon in Bethesda. I think Dr. Shapiro is only taking younger children now, though. Dr. Polly Panitz is affiliated with Capital Area Pediatrics and you can see some people's experience with her here. A lot of people also like Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore.

Other options for diagnosis include psychiatrists and psychologists.

Finally, a good source for referrals might be your son's school. Ours helped us get in with someone excellent.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I thought Dr. Pratt was awful. Big thumbs down on her.

[Anonymous]

We saw Dr. Conlon in November. We called and called and e-mailed and called for our report and never got anything back. Finally, he said that it had been so long since he saw our child, he needed to see him again (free of charge) in order to write the report.

So, we saw him again. After the appointment, he said he'd have something to us in two weeks. It's been over a month and we haven't even gotten a call back. His office hasn't even filed a claim with our insurance company so we can't get reimbursed.

He's great with our child, but for several hundred dollars, we need more than that.

[Anonymous]

I live in that area and found nothing that worked for us...ended up going to someone in DC that worked out well. Then you can line up your support team (OT, therapist, social skills, etc) more locally based on the evaluation and what things are suggested. Also are you in in FCPS? If so have you already asked for eval? We did that as well and the testing they did was pretty thorough based on the feedback I got from the neuropsychologist and his therapist.


Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I don't think there are options in that area (we live there, too). We go to Bethesda/Rockville to see Dan Shapiro and it's worth it. However, his practice is often not accepting new patients and I believe that in any case, he has limited new patients to under 5 years old or younger.