Dr. Conlon

[Anonymous]

I had an appointment with Dr. Conlon on the Monday of the snow storm after waiting for six months. It obviously got canceled. But, I've called the office twice to reschedule and each time I get "they are working on it." After waiting 6 months I'm a little frustrated and I can't be the only parent whose child's appointment was canceled.

I've read on this board other frustrations with him and his office, but he came highly recommended, and Dr. Shapiro isn't taking new patients. I don't want to call another doctor and wait another 6 months. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

FYI, Dr. Conlon isn't taking new patients now, either.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it's frustrating. It's hard to get a response. I guess I just have accepted the price we pay to go to the best is it's not so easy to reach him, get appointments, etc. I think he might be overscheduled with all his clients, his speaking engagements and perhaps research too. I will say once you have his attention he's outstanding. He treats parents with respect and he seems to genuinely care about his patients. Plus, he seems to have a lot of expertise.

I have heard there are still one or two decent dev peds at Children's. You may want to at least get on the waitlist there. You could also try Hopkins's Kenedy Krieger. GL!

[Anonymous]

22:25 here: can you tell us who those "decent dev peds" might be? I did all my due diligence on Dr. Conlon, and now have to start from scratch again!

[Anonymous]

Hey 22:25 - good question. This is why I haven't had my child evaluated by a developmental pediatrician yet. I'm just not sure where to go. I've also heard there are a lot of quacks out there.

My son was evaluated by Child Find and qualifies for services based on that thank goodness, but he has not been seen by a specialist.

His regular pediatrician also somewhat discouraged us from seeing a dev. ped. He asked us, "What would you do differently than you're already doing if your son's condition had a label?" Our answer was most likely nothing.

[Anonymous]

13:28 here. I'm sorry I don't know who the dev peds are at CNMC. I think old ped was the one who said there are still 1 or 2 decent ones. I will say getting your child whatever intervention is needed: ST, OT and/or PT is more crucial than seeing the developmental ped. I didn't learn many new things, I just got a few questions answered and I like that we have an expert tracking our child.

[Anonymous]

OP poster here. Dr Conlon's office called today and we are going next week, so i guess my frustration was not warranted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP poster here. Dr Conlon's office called today and we are going next week, so i guess my frustration was not warranted.

Actually, your frustrations is only beginning. I hope you get your written report sooner than we did.

[Anonymous]

still still waiting on ours

[Anonymous]

OP here again. how long does it take to get a report?

[Anonymous]

13:28 again..we had a long wait too for the report. However, you leave his office knowing what his impressions are and what will be in the report. I guess I see this as another one of the prices you pay for someone good. He has empathy as well as both clinical and social skills. I can't say that for every person we have encountered since we first started to be concerned. And don't get me started about the pediatricians who said we had nothing to worry about. The problem is nobody goes back and tells them they were wrong. We certainly didn't.

[Anonymous]

You can wait a long time for a report but I've found Dr. Conlon works well on a deadline. We've needed his reports for IEP meetings and when I've told him when we need them (and emailed reminders) he's been very responsive. I can understand the frustration but (paraphrasing a PP), when he's with us, we feel we really have his attention and he understands our kids and what we're going through. For us, he's really been worth the long drive, the long wait and the expense.

[Anonymous]

After one meeting he knows the answer? That doesn't seem possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After one meeting he knows the answer? That doesn't seem possible.

I didn't see anyone saying Dr. Conlon "knows the answer". In fact, I don't think I've ever seen anyone post they were able to get all the answers they wanted from any provider (perhaps the exception is the Greenspan fantatic/Absolute Woman). Dr Conlon certainly couldn't asnwer all our questions but he was able to shed light on some things, reassure us on others and give us some directions to pursue. He was also was clear when he was speculating and when he was speaking with confidence. We greatly appreciated his honesty - even if it took a while to get a report.

Oh - not all the appointments are for a single meeting. Sometimes it's over the course of two days.

[Anonymous]

OP here-I have a two day appointment with Dr. Conlon. After the second appointment does he give his impressions? My husband is wondering which appt he should take off of work for. He can't take off for both b/c they are back to back days. He would like to hear his impressions. Would that be on the second day or do we come back for another appointment?