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UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES – PHILIPPINE GENERAL HOSPITAL

DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS
DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS

Vision

A dynamic center of excellence offering sustainable resources and accessible technical expertise in collaboration with national and international organizations, that promotes dignity, provides equity, and ensures the quality of life of individuals with developmental and behavioral disorders, including their families and communities.

Mission

We are committed to be leaders in transdisciplinary assessment and collaborative care for children with developmental and behavioral conditions. We are dedicated to provide training for key stakeholders and advocates. We strive to conduct research on the quality of practice in the management of developmental and behavioral disabilities. We advocate for inclusivity, diversity, and equitable access to services, ensuring that every child receives individualized care that addresses their unique strengths, challenges, and potential.

Beginnings

The Child Development Unit in Ward 11 of the Department of Pediatrics was established in 1961 by Dr. Perla D. Santos Ocampo to answer the needs of a “special” group of children. However, this pioneering effort was not immediately recognized since the focus of the pediatric health system then was on infectious diseases.

 

The advent of the 1980s recognized the wave of developmental and behavioral disorders as the “new morbidities” in pediatrics. The need for a more comprehensive evaluation of these children and adolescents became an urgent concern. Subsequently, the Multidisciplinary Child and Adolescent Unit (MCAU) of the Department of Pediatrics began its services at the Philippine General Hospital Outpatient Department in 1987.

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The MCAU combined the existing Child Development Unit and the Adolescent Services of the Department of Pediatrics. It was envisioned to provide a multi-disciplinary approach towards the assessment of children with special needs, where collaboration with different services like Adolescent Medicine, Endocrinology, Genetics, Intensive Care, Neonatology, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, Psychiatry, and Rehabilitation Medicine took place “under one roof.” Consultants, who were the first mentors of the program within the Department, included: Professor Perla D. Santos Ocampo, Drs. Amelia Fernandez, Carmelita Domingo, and Aida Salonga. The other disciplines involved in the provision of services included the Departments of Psychiatry, Rehabilitation Medicine, Ophthalmology, and Otorhinolaryngology, and UP College of Allied Medical Professions.

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The first local fellowship training program in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in the Philippines was offered in 1987. Dr. Alexis L. Reyes became the first recipient of this program and proceeded to complete her fellowship training as a research and clinical fellow at the Institute of Child Health and the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990.

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Upon her return, together with Professor Santos Ocampo and Dr. Vilma Bagay-Salcedo, who later joined the Section after her training in the United States, started the first local training program in the subspecialty of Developmental Pediatrics.

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In 2000, the MCAU became the Section of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and was recognized as a separate unit from the Adolescent Medicine Service, which had its own section. Today, the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics’ Outpatient Clinic remains the largest provider of charity diagnostic services for children and adolescents with developmental and behavioral disabilities in a tertiary government teaching hospital.
 

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Current Consultation Staff

Stella Manalo, MD, MBA
Division Head


Ma. Anna Lourdes Moral, MD
Training Officer 


Ma. Isabel Quilendrino, MD
Cindy Canceko-Llego, MD, MSc
Affiliate Physician 


Charlotte Averill Tan, MD
Affiliate Physician

Services Offered

  • Developmental Assessment

  • Multi-disciplinary Clinics

    • Child Protection Unit

    • Newborn Medicine (Ambulatory Kangaroo Mother Care Clinic)

    • Adolescent Medicine (Transition Clinic for Youth with Developmental Disabilities)

    • Clinical and Metabolic Genetics (e.g., Down Syndrome Clinic, Mucopolysaccharidoses Clinic, Maple Syrup Urine Disease Clinic)

    • Pediatric Neurology (e.g., Muscular Dystrophy)

  • General and Disability-Specific Parent Education

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