The Child Development Center
Children and adolescents who have difficulties learning, developmental delays or other special needs are provided with skilled and comprehensive diagnostic testing and treatment designed to meet their individual needs.
The Child Development Center is able to provide the services of
Programs
The Early Intervention Program is a family-centered program for developmentally delayed children from birth to age three. Parents are an important part of the total program which includes a developmental evaluation to determine eligibility into the program. Individual sessions are in the child's natrual environment-mostly the child's home. The core team of professionals may include a special education teacher, speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, and/or physical therapist. The team works with families and children to improve develpmental skills in the areas of motor abilities, speech-language, feeding, thinking and socialization. The team of healthcare professionals works with families and children to improve developmental skills.
Early intervention services are funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services-Early Intervention Program and by Hunterdon Medical Center. The Flemington Elks Lodge also has been a consistent supporter of the program.
For more information or to register, call Service Coordinators Linda O'Brien (908) 788-6398 or 1-888-653-4463
Developmental Pediatric Associates
Over 220,000 New Jersey students - 15% of the state's students - currently receive special education services. Care for these children and adolescents requires coordination between primary and special health care systems, schools, child care, early intervention programs, and community services. Developmental Pediatric Associates is a practice formed to address these needs.
David Atkin, M.D. has a long history of serving the pediatric population in New Jersey. He started in Princeton as a general pediatrician forty years ago. After training under an expert in the field of learning disabilities Dr. Atkin focused his practice to children and adolescents with learning disabilities and ADHD. Dr. Atkin continues to enjoy working with children that have a range of special needs. His special interests are in the area of adolescents and adults with learning disabilities and ADHD, particularly when they are combined with other areas of difficulty.
Audrey Mars, M.D. received her medical degree from Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel. She completed her residency at New York University Medical Center and a fellowship in Developmental Disabilities at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Mars' work has been published in several medical journals including: Pediatrics, The Journal of Pediatrics, and American Journal of Human Genetics. She was Autism NJ's (formerly COSAC) Healthcare Professional of the Year in 2008 and serves as a member of their professional advsory board. Dr. Mars works with children who exhibit a wide range of developmental disabilities and has a special interest in children with Autism, and those who are internationally adopted. Dr. Mars continues an established research capacity with UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is involved with research to determine the prevalence of Autism in New Jersey.
Frances Rhoads, M.D. received her medical degree from Cambridge University in England and did her pediatric residency at Philadelphia General Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, and Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital in Honolulu, HI, where she also completed a fellowship in Child Development. While in Hawaii, Dr. Rhoads was the medical director of a multi-disciplinary child development and school problem clinic. She then worked in Washington DC, in inner-city clinics providing general care for low income and recent immigrant children, and organized a developmental evaluation clinic within the general pediatric ambulatory care center at the Children’s National Medical Center. Prior to joining Developmental Pediatric Associates Dr. Rhoads worked at Saint Peter’s University Hospital and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School doing a mixture of general academic and neurodevelopmental pediatrics.
Throughout her career, Dr. Rhoads has been on the faculty of medical schools; she has been actively involved in teaching pediatric and family practice residents and medical students – for which she has received many teaching awards. She has an interest in preschool age developmental delays and elementary school age learning disabilities. She is fluent in Spanish and has particular experience in working with families from Mexico and Central America.
Michele Willems-Plakyda, M.D. attended the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She completed her pediatric residency at Robert Wood Johnson & St Peters University Hospitals where she went on to serve as chief resident. She then completed a Fellowship in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She also served as a staff physician at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Dr. Willems-Plakyda has a long history of working with people who have developmental disabilities. Throughout college and medical school she was a volunteer for Special Olympics and worked for the Arc. Dr. Willems-Plakyda's special interests are children with physical disabilities, children with genetic syndromes and children with learning disabilities and ADHD.
Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Lori Kennedy, RN, MSN, PNP, C, received her Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree in Nursing from Seton Hall University. Before she joined Developmental Pediatric Associates, Lori worked in outpatient pediatric oncology at United Hospital and provided primary pediatric care at St. Barnabas Hospital and Summit Medical Group. Lori is active in her professional organization, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and was Treasurer of their New Jersey chapter for six years. Lori has always had a strong interest in working with kids, and finds way to do that in her professional and personal life; she teaches religious education at her church, and lives in Three Bridges with her husband and their five children.
Cynthia Utter, RN, MSN, PNP, C, received her Bachelors Degree from the University of Florida and her Masters Degree from Rutgers University. Prior to joining Developmental Pediatric Associates she was part of a Pediatric Neurology practice in Morristown. Cindi also worked for several years at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Developmental Follow Up Clinic and as a clinical pediatric nursing instructor at the County College of Morris. Cindi lives in Middlesex County with her husband and their three children.
For more information or to schedule an appointment call the Child Development Center at (908) 788-6396 or Developmental Pediatric Associates at (908) 788-6650.
Hunterdon County Special Child Health Services Case Management Unit
The mission of Special Child Health Services is to enhance the capacity of families to meet the developmental and health related needs of children ages birth to 21 who have delays or disabilities by providing education and support services.
Case Managers assist families in accessing services for children with disabilities, special health needs or who are at risk for developmental delays ages birth tthrough 21. There are 21 county-based case management units that provide a link for children with special needs to services through local, state, and federal programs. Case management services include the development of an individual service plan focusing on the medical, developmental, educational, rehabilitative, and social/emotional status of the family and child, and appropriate referral and periodic monitoring by a case manager. Referrals may include, but are not limited to the following: Medicaid Model Waiver programs, Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, preschool programs, camps, resources for obtaining financial assistance and rehabilitative equipment/services, community peer and advocacy groups and local school districts.
The services of the case manager are offered at no charge to families. This program is funded by the the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders and New Jersey's Department of Health and Senior Services in collaboration with Hunterdon Healthcare.
For more information on Special Child Health Services, contact Susan Freedman at (908) 788-6399.
Child Study Team
A state approved independent Child Study Team provides comprehensive evaluations for children and adolescents, ages 3-21, with school-related problems. There are fees for these services and referrals are accepted from any source, including schools, physicians, agencies and parents.
Professionals involved in providing these services may include:
- assistant coordinator
- developmental pediatrician
- speech-language pathologist
- occupational therapist
- social worker
- audiologist
- psychologist
- learning disabilities teacher consultant
For more information or to make an appointment, call (908) 788-6396.
The Pediatric Occupational and Physical Therapy Program provides individual occupational and or physical therapy as well as parent education for children from birth through adolescence helping children achieve maximum independence in daily living at school and at play.
The staff consists of licensed Occupational and Physical therapists, many with specialized training including, Neurodevelopmental Treatment, The Listening Program, Behavioral Interventions and Sensory Processing. The staff work closely with physicians and other professionals throughout the Hunterdon Healthcare System and the greater community.
Pediatric occupational and physical therapists put an emphasis on family centered care. Parents and other family members are an integral part of the treatment team. Family members participate in assessment and goal setting and are instructed in home program activities to help their children.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Pediatric Occupational Therapists evaluate and treat infants, children, and adolescents who have functional limitations as the result of a developmental delay and/or specific medical condition. These limitations include difficulties with self-care, listening and learning, writing and/or cutting, playing age-appropriately, and interacting with others.
Pediatric Occupational Therapists help children to maximize their potential through:
• Improving sensory processing & self-regulation skills
• Facilitating fine and gross motor coordination
• Improving visual motor/perceptual skills
• Promoting problem solving, learning, & coping skills
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Pediatric Physical Therapists evaluate and treat infants, children, and adolescents who have impairments that interfere with their ability to perform everyday activities such as sitting, crawling, walking, playing, riding a bicycle, and playing on the playground.
Pediatric Physical therapists help children achieve or regain motor skills through:
• Increasing mobility and strength
• Improving balance and coordination
• Positioning
• Promoting functional skills
• Adapting toys for play & helping children move toward the toys they want
• Increasing self confidence
The pediatric occupational and physical therapy staff at HMC provide individual evaluations and therapy through two special programs.
Outpatient Physical and Occupational Therapy Program
• Provides therapy to children from birth through adolescence, helping them learn to move and participate in the world around them.
• Outpatient therapy is provided in the Child Development Center on the 5th floor of Hunterdon Medical Center
• Many insurance plans are accepted
Early Intervention Program
• Provides intervention to children from infancy to their third birthday who qualify for services according to federal and state guidelines
• Provides services in their home or other natural environment, such as daycare or a playground
• Supports families in helping their children learn to move and play through parent training
• Services are provided through federal and state funding with supplemental family cost share
For more information or to make an appointment, call (908) 788-6396.
Speech Language Pathology
Our Speech Language Pathologists offer a wide range of diagnostic and therpeutic services for children with communication difficulties. Therapy is individualized to meet the needs for each child.
Services are provided for:
- Language delays or disorders
- Stuttering
- Problems associated with developmental delay, trauma, learning disabiities, etc.
- Auditory Processing
Audiology
Our Audiologists offer a wide range of diagnostic services. For children, a variety of testing methods may be employed to best suit each child's needs. Such testing may include visual reinforcement and behavioral observation audiometry, conditioned play audiometry, otoacoustic emmissions testing and middle ear testing.
Some of the services provided by our audiologists include:
- Hearing screenings
- Otoacoustic emissions
- Auditory brainstem response
- Custom ear molds and swim plugs
- Complete hearing evaluations
- Hearing aid fitting
- Central auditory processing testing
For more information call (908) 788-6424.
The Hunterdon Regional Autism Center
908-788-6396
The Hunterdon Regional Autism Center is supported by funding from The New Jersey Governor’s Council for Medical Research and Treatment of Autism, Special Child Health and Early Intervention Services, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services in collaboration with Hunterdon Healthcare's Child Development Center. With a long standing tradition of serving children with special needs and their families, the Child Development Center at Hunterdon Medical Center is dedicated to providing comprehensive multidisciplinary diagnostic, therapeutic, and educational programs and services in a family centered community based environment. Our goal is to continue to support the tradition of excellence established by Hunterdon Medical Center while working to improve the quality of life and long term outcomes for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders in counties served by the Hunterdon Regional Autism Center. The Hunterdon Regional Autism Center is housed in the Child Development Center at Hunterdon Medical Center.
Goals of the Regional Autism Center
To Improve the quality of life of individuals with autism spectrum disorders in counties served by:
- Early detection and diagnosis of infants and toddlers with the objective of lowering the age at which these children begin to receive effective treatments.
- Increased access to multidisciplinary assessment and treatment programs that address the broad symptomotology of ASD.
- Increased access to behavioral and pharmacological treatment paradigms that target core and associated symptoms of autism while providing the intensive monitoring and follow-up necessary for optimal therapeutic effect.
- Care conferences with psychiatry to more effectively manage co- morbidities.
- Outreach to schools and community providers to improve outcomes throughout the lifespan of individuals affected by autism spectrum disorders.
- Training for health and educational professionals serving children with autism spectrum disorders.
- Enhanced Family Training Opportunities.
Autism is a neurobiological disorder that impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls.
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