Developmental Pediatricians in Los Angeles

8 developmental pediatricians and clinics in Los Angeles

University and hospital programs first, then the county hospitals, Long Beach, Kaiser and a Valley practice. Each one’s own pages say a developmental-behavioral pediatrician practices there. The order isn’t a ranking; call about waits, ages and insurance.

1. 1

   UCLA Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Program

   Westwood · 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 3100, Los Angeles, CA 90095

   Good for Families who want to refer themselves

   UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital’s program evaluates and follows children with developmental and behavioral disorders, and parents can refer their own child, as can physicians and therapists. Typical referrals: infants with motor delays or possible cerebral palsy, toddlers with language or social delays including suspected autism, and preschool and school-age kids with learning, attention, anxiety or feeding concerns. Developmental-behavioral pediatricians work with a psychologist and a pediatric fellow. Sai Iyer, MD, and Irene Koolwijk, MD, MPH, are board-certified in the subspecialty.

   • Parents can refer
   • Infants through school age
   • DBPs plus a psychologist
   • Board-certified DBPs on staff
   • Weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

   uclahealth.org (opens their site)310-825-0867On Summerground

2. 2

   Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

   Beverly Grove · 8723 Alden Dr, Suite 240, Los Angeles, CA 90048

   Good for Complex autism or ADHD, or a neurogenetic condition

   Cedars-Sinai’s program is directed by Cesar Ochoa-Lubinoff, MD, MPH, board-certified in developmental-behavioral pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics. Its listed areas are complex ADHD, complex autism, anxiety, disruptive behavior, emotional dysregulation, Angelman syndrome, Fragile X and other neurogenetic conditions; it says it runs the only Angelman clinic in Los Angeles. The team works alongside Cedars-Sinai’s pediatric neurologists, calls itself consultants with parents as the decision makers, and suggests asking your plan whether an authorization is required.

   • Board-certified DBP director
   • Complex ADHD and autism
   • Angelman and Fragile X clinics
   • Works with pediatric neurology
   • Ask your plan about authorization

   cedars-sinai.org (opens their site)310-423-7779

3. 3

   Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics and Boone Fetter Clinic

   Koreatown and Los Feliz · 3250 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 201, Los Angeles, CA 90010

   Good for An autism evaluation led by a developmental pediatrician

   CHLA’s division, led by Douglas Vanderbilt, MD, has pediatricians board-certified in both general and developmental-behavioral pediatrics. Its Boone Fetter Clinic does autism evaluations, diagnosis and treatment, with a developmental-behavioral pediatrician leading each child’s team and nurse care managers routing families to the right specialist. Clinics sit on Wilshire and on the Sunset campus, including the Newborn Follow-up Program and an AltaMed site. For children 18 months to 5, a virtual autism assessment from home videos costs $875, or can go through insurance for California residents.

   • Board-certified in general and DBP
   • Boone Fetter autism clinic
   • Referral line: 888-631-2452
   • Virtual assessment, 18 mo–5: $875
   • Sunset campus and AltaMed sites too

   chla.org (opens their site)323-361-6102On Summerground

4. 4

   LA General Medical Center / USC Pediatrics, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

   Boyle Heights · 2020 Zonal Ave, Room 112, Los Angeles, CA 90033

   Good for East LA families at the county hospital

   The county’s LA General Medical Center (formerly LAC+USC) lists developmental and behavioral pediatrics among its pediatric faculty services, with Marsha Rappley, MD, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician and clinical professor of pediatrics. The department describes its focus as the underserved children and families of Los Angeles. Its page gives a program coordinator’s email but no clinic phone, ages or referral steps, so ask your child’s LA General or county clinic doctor for a referral, or write to the coordinator.

   • County teaching hospital
   • Developmental and behavioral pediatrician
   • Coordinator: cassani@med.usc.edu
   • Referral steps not posted

   uscpediatrics.com (opens their site)

5. 5

   Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Developmental Behavioral Clinic

   1000 W Carson St, Torrance, CA 90502

   Good for South Bay families at the county hospital

   LA County’s Harbor-UCLA Medical Center lists a Developmental Behavioral Clinic within its Division of General Pediatrics, alongside an adolescent clinic and a failure-to-thrive clinic, and separate divisions of pediatric neurology and child and adolescent psychiatry. The clinic’s own page is password-protected, so what it evaluates, who staffs it and how referrals work aren’t posted. The department gives a subspecialist appointment line at 424-306-7338 and a pediatrician appointment line at 424-306-7350; call and ask for the developmental behavioral clinic.

   • County teaching hospital
   • Subspecialist appointments: 424-306-7338
   • Pediatric neurology on site
   • Clinic details not public

   dhs.lacounty.gov (opens their site)424-306-7338

6. 6

   Stramski Children’s Developmental Center, MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital

   2651 Elm Ave, Suite 205, Long Beach, CA 90806

   Good for Long Beach and South Bay kids who need a whole team

   Founded in 1975 by developmental pediatrician Geraldine Stramski, MD, the center sees children from birth through 21 with ADHD, autism, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, Down syndrome, Fragile X, sleep disorders and other delays, more than 4,000 a year. Medical director Gary Feldman, MD, is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician; the team adds psychology, genetics, social workers and nurse specialists who handle authorizations and talk with schools. Programs include high-risk infant follow-up, a Fragile X center and psychological testing, plus Spanish-language support groups.

   • Birth through 21
   • DBP medical director
   • Psychology, genetics, social work on site
   • High-risk infant follow-up
   • Spanish-language support groups

   millerchildrens.memorialcare.org (opens their site)562-933-5437On Summerground

7. 7

   Kaiser Permanente Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (West Los Angeles)

   Baldwin Hills · 3782 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008

   Good for Kaiser members, including Spanish-speaking families

   Kaiser’s West Los Angeles pediatrics department includes Carolina Pena-Ricardo, MD, a board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatrician in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw building. Her page says a first appointment usually runs 60 to 90 minutes, sometimes 120, spent testing development and analyzing behavior with parents as part of the team; her first language is Spanish. Plans listed as accepted are Kaiser’s HMO, EPO, point-of-service and Medi-Cal managed care plans. Kek-Khee Loo, MD, another board-certified DBP at Kaiser in Southern California, trained at UCLA and focuses on autism.

   • Board-certified DBP
   • First visit 60–90 minutes
   • English and Spanish
   • Kaiser plans incl. Medi-Cal managed care

   healthy.kaiserpermanente.org (opens their site)833-574-2273

8. 8

   Pediatric Care Physicians (Deborah Rubin, MD)

   5353 Balboa Blvd, Suite 200, Encino, CA 91316

   Good for Valley families who want a DBP as the pediatrician

   A general pediatric group in Encino where one of the five doctors, Deborah Rubin, MD, is board-certified in both general pediatrics and developmental and behavioral pediatrics, after a DBP fellowship at UCLA and residency at Harbor-UCLA. Her page says she brings her knowledge of child development into her general pediatric practice; it doesn’t say whether she takes outside referrals for developmental evaluations alone, so ask. The practice accepts new patients from birth through 18 and offers telemedicine visits to established patients.

   • Board-certified in pediatrics and DBP
   • UCLA DBP fellowship
   • General pediatric group
   • New patients birth–18

   pedcaredocs.com (opens their site)818-461-9690

What a developmental pediatrician does (vs a neurologist, psychologist or psychiatrist)

A developmental-behavioral pediatrician is a pediatrician first. The American Academy of Pediatrics describes the training as four years of medical school, three years of pediatric residency and board certification in pediatrics, then subspecialty training in developmental-behavioral pediatrics; Kaiser’s Dr. Pena-Ricardo puts that last step at three more years. The American Board of Pediatrics has certified the subspecialty by exam since 2002. CHLA’s doctors, for example, are certified in both general and developmental-behavioral pediatrics.

What they see, per the AAP: learning disorders such as dyslexia; ADHD and the anxiety, depression and conduct problems that travel with it; tics and Tourette syndrome; sleep, feeding, toilet-training and bedwetting problems; developmental disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy and intellectual disability; delays in speech, motor skills or thinking; and the developmental fallout of chronic illness. If you’ve been searching for an autism doctor, this is usually the doctor you mean: a physician who can weigh medical causes, make the diagnosis, prescribe when needed and coordinate therapy and school supports.

• A pediatric neurologist treats the nervous system: seizures and epilepsy, headaches, movement disorders, and developmental delay when a neurological or genetic cause is in question. UCLA and Cedars-Sinai pair their developmental pediatricians with neurologists for exactly those cases. See pediatric neurologists in Los Angeles.
• A child psychologist does testing and therapy. Most full private autism and ADHD evaluations in LA, with the ADOS-2 and cognitive and learning tests, are done by psychologists, and under California law psychologists don’t prescribe. See child psychologists in Los Angeles.
• A child psychiatrist is a medical doctor focused on mental health conditions and their medication: depression, anxiety, OCD, mood disorders, or ADHD alongside them. See child psychiatrists in Los Angeles.

Many children see more than one. A common path is a developmental pediatrician for the diagnosis and medical picture, a psychologist for detailed testing or therapy, and a neurologist only if something points that way.

What an evaluation includes and how long the wait is

The clinics on this list describe the visit in similar terms. At Kaiser, Dr. Pena-Ricardo’s first appointment runs 60 to 90 minutes, sometimes 120, and is spent testing development, analyzing behavior and talking through family and environmental factors, with parents as part of the team. UCLA’s program brings a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, a psychologist and a pediatric fellow to the same case, and follows up with support, training and referrals to community services. Stramski’s nurse specialists coordinate authorizations and communicate with your child’s school. CHLA’s Boone Fetter Clinic puts a developmental pediatrician at the head of a multidisciplinary autism team.

Bring what you have: school reports, earlier evaluations, regional center paperwork, a list of medications and your own notes on what you’re seeing and when it started. If your child has been in a NICU, say so; UCLA, CHLA and Stramski all run high-risk infant follow-up programs.

The wait. There are few of these doctors. A Rutgers study in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics had researchers call 140 developmental pediatric programs at children’s hospitals nationwide as parents seeking a first evaluation: only 55 percent would give a wait estimate, and among those the average was about five and a half months. Roughly a third offered no Spanish-language service. The study counted only about 1,000 developmental pediatricians in the United States. None of the LA clinics here posts a current wait, so ask when you call, and ask to be put on a cancellation list.

If you’re in a state-regulated health plan, California’s timely access rules say the plan must offer a non-urgent appointment with a specialist physician within 15 business days, or help you get one in or out of network. A developmental pediatrician is a specialist physician. If the plan can’t deliver, file a grievance and, if that fails, call the DMHC Help Center at 1-888-466-2219.

Getting it paid for in LA: insurance, Medi-Cal, regional centers, the free school evaluation

None of the practices on this list posts a price for an in-person evaluation except CHLA’s $875 virtual assessment, so ask when you call. Here’s how each payer works in 2026:

• Private insurance. A developmental pediatrician visit is a specialist visit under your medical benefit. Cedars-Sinai suggests checking with your plan on whether an authorization is required before scheduling; if you’re in an HMO, ask your pediatrician’s office how referrals work. State-regulated plans must offer the specialist appointment within 15 business days or arrange care out of network (DMHC). If you’re told the only option is out of network, ask the practice what a first visit costs and whether it gives a superbill.
• Medi-Cal. Call your Medi-Cal health plan, such as L.A. Care or Health Net, at the number on your card and ask for a developmental pediatrics referral; Kaiser’s DBP pages list Medi-Cal managed care among the plans accepted, and the county hospitals, LA General and Harbor-UCLA, are the public option. Once your child has a diagnosis, Medi-Cal covers all medically necessary behavioral health treatment, including ABA, for members under 21, and no autism diagnosis is required: a physician or psychologist has to recommend it (DHCS).
• Your regional center. California’s regional centers assess children for developmental disabilities at no charge, and you don’t need a doctor’s diagnosis to apply. By law, intake happens within 15 working days of your request and the assessment within 120 days (DDS); for a child under 3, Early Start has 45 days from referral. Find yours in Regional Centers in Los Angeles County. A regional center assessment doesn’t replace a medical evaluation, but it can open services while you wait for one.
• Your school district. Ask in writing for a special education assessment; under Education Code 56029 a written request counts as a referral. The district has 15 days to give you an assessment plan and, once you sign it, 60 days to assess and hold an IEP meeting, not counting school breaks of more than five days (Education Code 56043). It costs you nothing, but it decides school eligibility, not a medical diagnosis. The steps are in our guide to ADHD testing for kids in Los Angeles.

Do these in parallel. The regional center and the school can both start the month you call, and their reports are useful to the developmental pediatrician when your appointment comes.

How to check a doctor’s board certification

Any licensed physician can call themselves a developmental pediatrician. Board certification in developmental-behavioral pediatrics means the doctor finished an accredited fellowship and passed the American Board of Pediatrics’ subspecialty exam. The AAP notes that ABP certification is voluntary, so it’s worth checking rather than assuming.

1. Go to the American Board of Pediatrics’ verification of certification page and search the doctor’s name. Look for “Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics” as an area of certification, not only “General Pediatrics,” and check that the status is current.
2. Check the California license on the Medical Board of California’s search, which also shows any disciplinary history.
3. Ask where the doctor did their developmental-behavioral fellowship. On this list, the pages name fellowships at UCLA (Drs. Loo and Rubin), Boston Children’s (Dr. Koolwijk), Boston University (Dr. Vanderbilt) and Case Western (Dr. Feldman).

Doctors trained in a related field also see these children. Some are child neurologists with a fellowship in neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as UCLA’s Lauren Waldron, MD, or behavioral child neurologists such as UCLA’s Shafali Jeste, MD, and Rujuta Wilson, MD. Those are legitimate paths; they show up under neurology on the ABPN’s verifyCERT rather than under the ABP.

Questions parents ask