FAQs

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) is a subspecialty of Pediatrics that focuses on the development and behavior of children from infancy through 18 years of age. It is a true bio-psycho-social medical field in that it considers the biology of child development and behavior in the context of a child’s family, community, and social surroundings. It looks at the interplay of medical conditions, social-emotional development, learning and mental health.

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians, like Dr. Trenna Sutcliffe, are medical doctors. After completing four years of medical school, they complete three years of residency training in pediatrics followed by another three years in a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics fellowship program. Board-certification occurs when a doctor has received extra training in a medical specialty and has successfully completed a national examination for that speciality. Board-certified doctors are experts within their field, meet a high standard, and are required to remain current with their knowledge and skill set.

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians provide diagnostic assessment, ongoing care, counseling, medication management, and advocacy support for children and teens with various challenges in development, behavior, learning, and social-emotional well-being. They not only collaborate with a child’s family but also with schools, therapists, and other professionals involved in the child’s care.

The Sutcliffe Clinic is dedicated to helping parents raise happy kids through an integrated, multidisciplinary team model that considers the whole child and the whole family.

We value collaboration, communication, relationships, skill-building, and strength-based interventions. Our goal is for families to feel more informed and empowered so they can advocate for and support their children through the ups and downs of infancy, childhood, and teenage years. We aspire to earn your trust as we guide each family along their personal journey

Families visit The Sutcliffe Clinic for many reasons. Families request consultation when they are trying to understand the underlying cause of their child’s school struggles, behavioral challenges, or developmental differences. They may be seeking more information on their child’s overall profile (strengths and challenges), a diagnostic evaluation, or parenting support.

Many families develop a long-term relationship with the clinic, lasting throughout their child’s formative years, because they want a team that helps them navigate the journey of parenthood. Parenting can be challenging at the best of times, so having a team of experts around you when you hit the inevitable bumps in the road can be invaluable.

The Sutcliffe Clinic believe in a “Whole Child” philosophy. Before creating a management plan to address challenges or disabilities, we strive toward a holistic understanding of your child. This includes psychological and educational testing to better understand your child’s cognitive and behavioral strengths and weaknesses, as well as an assessment of your child’s social-emotional development, interpersonal skills, and interactions with other family members.

With this holistic picture in place, we have a team of experts available to work with you to leverage your child’s strengths and address their challenges. Our Medical Wellness team, comprised of pediatricians trained in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics and Integrative Medicine, partner with you to address the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect your child’s health. This leads to an understanding of your child’s overall functioning, stress management skills, nutrition, sleep habits, and a myriad of other factors. Our Psychological Assessment team further helps to quantify and baseline these characteristics. These specialists then work hand in hand with our behaviorists, educational therapists, and nutritionists to implement a multi-faceted management plan, and coach parents, caregivers, and other family members in how to best support and interact with your child.

In addition to addressing and handling immediate health problems, The Sutcliffe Clinic’s model of care focuses on disease prevention and fostering the development of healthy behaviors and skills for effective self-care that children can use throughout their lives. In this way, we not only achieve the absence of illness and disability, but also health in its greatest form, a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing.

The Sutcliffe Clinic specializes in evidence-based, patient-centered care for children. We diagnose and manage behavioral and developmental concerns, and collaborate closely with pediatricians, therapists, teachers and community services to help families navigate the parenting journey. We embrace a “Whole Child” model of care that emphasizes the unique strengths of each child while leveraging these characteristics to address their challenges.

Our Medical Wellness team, comprised of pediatricians trained in Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics and Integrative Medicine, partner with you to address the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect your child’s health. This leads to an understanding of your child’s overall functioning, stress management skills, nutrition, sleep habits, and a myriad of other factors.

The Medical Wellness team then works hand-in-hand with our Psychological Assessment experts to quantify and baseline these characteristics. This comprehensive understanding of your child allows us to create an individualized management plan that is then implemented by our team of expert behavioral therapists, educational therapists, and nutritionists. At each step, parents are coached on how best to interact and advocate for their child.

In addition to addressing and handling immediate health problems, The Sutcliffe Clinic Medical Wellness team focuses on disease prevention and fostering the development of healthy behaviors and skills for effective self-care that children can use throughout their lives. In this way, we not only achieve the absence of illness and disability, but also health in its greatest form, a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing.

The clinic houses a team of experts from various fields related to education, therapy, behavior, medicine, nutrition, wellness, and development. We aim to provide high quality that goes beyond the standard of care.

The Sutcliffe Team provides families with a multitude of services and interventions in a way that is cohesive, collaborative, communicative, and comprehensive. There is nothing like having your full team under one roof and communicating regularly in order to optimize care.

The diversity of disciplines adds a richness to our diagnostic testing, assessments, treatment planning, recommendations and interventions. It allows us to truly address the whole child and the whole family with each individual case.

The central and most important part of the Sutcliffe Team is the family with whom we are working. Parents know their children well. We listen to parents and use our expertise to guide and provide treatments that meet families where they are at, while respecting family values and culture.

Families call the clinic for many reasons:

• To better understand if their child is behind in development, behavior, or learning.
• To obtain a diagnostic psychological assessment.
• To understand their child’s strengths and challenges.
• To create an individualized and specific treatment plan that uses a “whole-child approach” to support a child’s development, behavior and learning.
• To receive parent coaching and counseling around how best to help their child.
• To support their child’s social-emotional development and behavior.
• To seek individual therapy for their child.
• To work on family dynamics.
• To receive advocacy support while navigating services for their child.
• To determine the optimal school match.
• To seek educational therapy and support.
• To improve learning.
• To learn more about and receive prescription medication.
• To improve sleep habits, nutrition, exercise, stress management skills and overall wellness.

Yes, we collaborate with outside professionals and schools regularly. We are happy to meet and communicate with your child’s current therapists, teachers and school.

Whether your child is in preschool, elementary, middle or high school, we will work with your school team as much as you would like. We regularly conduct school observations and participate in school meetings at both private and public schools. We are happy to support you and help communicate your child’s needs at SST meetings, 504 meetings, and IEP meetings.

Although many of the children who visit the clinic do not have a specific condition, and they participate in programs in the clinic as part of their skill building, other children have appointments in the clinic for conditions such as the following:

• Delayed milestones
• Behavioral challenges including tantrums, impulsive behaviors, regulation issues, oppositional behaviors, and defiance
• Attention difficulties including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• School difficulties in the preschool years or school-age years
• Social challenges including autism spectrum disorder
• Speech, language and communication delays
• Learning disabilities including dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and processing disorders
• Sensory processing differences
• Anxiety disorders including general anxiety, social anxiety, and selective mutism
• Poor self-esteem and confidence
• Coping with grief, loss, or divorce
• Developmental and behavioral concerns related to prenatal substance exposure

The Sutcliffe Clinic is considered an out-of-network provider. Families can seek reimbursement for their visits from their insurer after their appointments. Services are paid for by the family at the time of each visit. The clinic accepts cash, checks, most major credit cards and HSA (healthcare spending account) cards. Families are then provided with a “superbill” listing diagnostic codes and CPT service codes. The family can submit this superbill to their health insurer for reimbursement, if they have out-of-network coverage as part of their health plan. We encourage families to be aware of their out-of-network coverage and speak with their insurer to be fully informed of their reimbursement rate.

Most commonly, the first visit is a parent-only consultation, where parents have a chance to share their concerns. A number of questionnaires are completed prior to the visit to facilitate the appointment. Initial impressions are discussed and a plan is created to gather additional data through school observation of the child, meeting the child in the clinic, or scheduling testing of the child. Once these next steps are completed, an overall treatment plan is discussed with the family.

On average the initial appointment lasts for 1 to 2 hours. It is very important that all forms and questionnaires are completed prior to the appointment in order to make the most efficient use of the time.

Once a family joins our team, they become one of “our families”. Our goal is to support the whole family along their journey. Many families stay connected with the clinic throughout childhood and teenage years. Some families visit the clinic once or twice a year while other families have weekly therapy visits. The visit frequency may change each year based on family needs. Families maintain their relationship with the clinic over years for many reasons, including: receiving active therapy in the clinic, ongoing school support, parent coaching, occasional second opinion regarding a child’s educational and overall treatment plan, medication management, counseling to optimize child learning, behavior, and health.

Once a family joins our team, they become one of “our families”. Our goal is to support the whole family along their journey. Many families stay connected with the clinic throughout childhood and teenage years. Some families visit the clinic once or twice a year while other families have weekly therapy visits. The visit frequency may change each year based on family needs. Families maintain their relationship with the clinic over years for many reasons, including: receiving active therapy in the clinic, ongoing school support, parent coaching, occasional second opinion regarding a child’s educational and overall treatment plan, medication management, counseling to optimize child learning, behavior, and health.