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Our Impact

All of the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics' efforts are reflections of the Division's unified focus of acting on behalf of the vulnerable child.

The Division incorporates specialists with clinical expertise to provide longitudinal support to children and adolescents with a multitude of challenges and vulnerabilities, including:

  • Global developmental delays
  • Developmental differences related to communication, language, and/or behavior
  • Complex attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Dyslexia
  • Learning disabilities
  • Neurocognitive disorders
  • Myelomeningocele
  • Long-term neonatal follow-up
  • End-of-life issues
  • Past trauma, often related to placement in the foster care system
  • Recent exposure to child abuse or neglect
  • Challenges to well-being in the adolescent developmental phase of growth
  • Chronic medical complexities
  • Down syndrome
  • 22Q deletion syndrome
  • Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

2024 Impact

  • By the Numbers

    By the Numbers

    Faculty and Staff icon

    Faculty

    • 24 faculty
    Fellowships icon

    Clinical

    • 9 clinical sites across Scottish Rite for Children; CMC-Dallas; CMC-Plano
    • 2,838 inpatient encounters
    • 24,928 outpatient encounters
    • 13 advanced practice nurses
    Doctors in Training icon

    Education

    • 49 residents
    • 7 fellows
    • 5 psychology graduate students
    Clinical Studies Icon

    Research

    • 4 active awards
    • $17,416 total funding from grants (FY25)
    • 4 active clinical trials
    • 1 lab and data study
    • 13 publications
    • 653 citations
  • Honors and Awards

    Honors and Awards

    Richard Adams

    • Recipient of the National Tim Brei Award, Spina Bifida Association of America

    Sari Bar

    • Recipient of the 2024 Society for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP) Early Career Award

    Veronica Bordes Edgar

    • Mentorship in Cultural Neuropsychology Award – Hispanic Neuropsychological Society
    • Fellow, American Psychological Association

    Jenny Francis

    • Evaluating Contraceptive Deserts through Community-Based Connections. $125,000. 07/1/2025 – 06/30/2027
    • Mental Health ‘Life Support:’ A simulation-based suicide prevention communication training in a pediatrics residency program. $30,000. 05/01/2025 – 04/30/2026.

    Hilda Loria

    • Chosen as Commencement Marshal, UT Southwestern

    Beatriz MacDonald Wer

    • Recipient of Distinguished Professor – Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
    • Recipient of WINNers Box Award – Women in Neuropsychology, Division 40 Society of Clinical Neuropsychology, American Psychological Association

    Patricia Petroff and Elizabeth Thomas

    • Team First Recognition/Impact, Team First

    Grace Slater

    • Faculty Educator of the Year, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Hospice and Palliative Medicine
  • Top Conference Presentation Locations

    Top Conference Presentation Locations

    • Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM), San Diego, CA, March 2024
    • The Ray E. Helfer Society Annual Meeting, Savannah, Georgia, April 2024
    • Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, May 2024
    • Society for Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., September 2024
    • American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Quebec, Canada, October 2024
  • Top Peer-Reviewed Publications and Book Chapters

    Top Peer-Reviewed Publications and Book Chapters

    • Caroll, B., Bordes Edgar, V., Bar, SH., Call, CR., Nyp, SS. (2024). Selective Mutism in the Context of Autism and Bilingualism. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. Published online November 26, 2024. PMID: 39591527
    • Katzman CL*, Sims JC, Harris JN, Rosenthal SL, Francis JK. Mother-Daughter Dyads’ Perceptions of Contraception. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2025 Feb; 38(1):79-84. Epub 2024 Sep 14. PMID 39284543
    • Kayani, S., Bordes Edgar, V., Lowden, A., Nettesheim, E. R., Dahshi, H., Messahel, S., Minassian, B. A., & Greenberg, B. M. (2024). Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses Type 7 (CLN7)- A case series reporting cross-sectional and retrospective clinical data to evaluate validity of standardized tools to assess disease progression, quality of life, and adaptive skills. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3983366/v1
    • Orobio, J., Dorsman, K., Dryden, M., Cartwright, J., Bordes Edgar, V., & Neumann, J. (2024). Supporting Spanish-bilingual assessment skills as an English-monolingual supervisor in the United States: The bilingual supervisee and monolingual supervisor (BSAMS) training model. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. DOI: 10.1080/23794925.2024.2432633
    • Sims J*, Harris JN, Katzman CL*, Wong C, Jetelina KK, Tiro JA, Rosenthal SL, Francis JKR. Confidence in adolescent contraceptive counseling among residents and fellows training at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. Contraception. 2024 Sept: 137:110478. Epub 2024 May 3. PMID 38705505
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