Dr. David O Childers, MD

He is a deplorable,unprofessional and egotistical human being. I don't appreciate him literally calling me a bad mother and calling my child stupid. I also don't appreciate him asking about my sex life with my husband. What does that have to do with anything about the care of my child? I also don't appreciate his comment of "What do you know about children? I have a degree and have treated thousands of children." I can tell you that a mother knows her child(ren) and what they are capable of. My child has flourished without his care. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Most unprofessional & horrifying experience. Took my son there 2 years ago for an evaluation (he was 3). I'm writing this now because I'm far enough away from the traumatizing experience with the doctor who essentially said all of the things below in one short visit, seemingly deriving pleasure from seeing our response to his outlandish comments: -“His type usual ends up in the prison system, though maybe if you are lucky you can manage to keep him out because of his environment." -“No need to do anything extra for him because early intervention is useless and a complete waste of your money. Just stop everything. No speech therapy. They are just taking your money." -“You'll probably end up getting divorced!" -“Perhaps you have ADD.” (Suddenly he was diagnosing me after meeting me once) -“His gap with peers will only get bigger, and he may stay stunted." -"He’ll never go to regular school because he’ll get eaten alive." -“Give up the notion of a typical public school… education and go see Keystone and other highly specialized schools. You have to face it now. Normal school isn’t an option." - Oh, and he (the Dr.) should probably be on medication but isn’t bc of his profession. Happy to report after initial tears, we didn't pay mind to his opinions. We followed our instinct and advice of other sound professionals, continuing on with early intervention of speech and OT, keeping him in his mainstream nursery school. Our son is now in public school in a mainstream KG class THRIVING, and his general developmental delay label was lifted. It was this great school report that prompted me to finally expose what we went through. Not only was this doctor completely off base in his findings, his insensitive delivery and complete lack of professionalism in this situation was insane. Believe the awful reviews out there & stay away. Whatever your situation, there are other reputable professionals who can deliver the services and information you need. And even amongst the professionals, there are major grumblings about this maniacal doctor and his erratic behavior.

Far above your average doctor. Extremely dedicated to making a big difference in very difficult medical specialties. Tells you what you need to know. Most others concentrate on having appointments with a lot of playing going on. He continually checks over the months to confirm or adjust his original diagnosis. What a difference from other doctors who rarely question themselves and never look for slight changes in patients as they develop. Amazingly, Dr. Childers manages to drive his uncomfortable messages home ... non confrontationally. Will softly state his advice two or three times, accompanied by a blank face and a long pause. Smart parents learn to copy that with their children. When parents learn that well, and stop responding to their childs excuses, children improve rapidly. I gather about 1/2 his patients' parents prefer sugar coating doctors, Jacksonvillle is overloaded with them. You must decide. Keep in mind, Dr. Childers is the most referred childhood… psychology doctor we know of.

Doc child has some severe self esteem issues. The only way he can compensate is to belittle the parents of the children. Misdiagnosis is common with him. He will label your child as mentally retarded even if others have said autism. DO NOT GO HERE. He will make sure your child gets labeled according to the needs to maintain funding to his clinic. This guy a huge quack.

His staff are wonderful. He was abusive to my child and I. He said things in front of my 12 year old that were totally inappropriate. His physical exam was improper and rough! He should warn people about what to expect so we can prepare our children. He's not even a psychiatrist so I am unsure why he's so highly sought after. My son refuses to go back to Childers and I don't blame him. He is a 12 year old boy that was made to sit through a 3 hour info gathering session with no "entertainment" and nobody was including him in the discussion. Childers proceeded to admonish his father and I by letting our son interrupt us 5 times (5 is HIS magic number) and then he shamed us. His physical exam of our son was very rough and inappropriate. DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD. There are others with experience that won't treat you and your child like we are cells in a petrie dish. He had ZERO respect for us or our child. My son is now traumatized. Additionally, he shared VERY private info regarding my… other children that our son should of never heard! His discernment skills are null. I feel like we deserve an apology.

I love how Dr. Childers was bold, direct, and doesn't sugar coat anything! Nice job! :)

His aggressive behavior caused bruises on my child's s arms and leg. My child kicked him once so he took my child's shoes off and threw them. That's how he got the bruise on his leg. He also has a my way or the highway attitude. Told us if he doesn't get his way the evaluation was over. My child did try to hit him and he grabbed my child's arms hard enough to cause bruising and he yelled no directly into my child's face.

I am fortunate I did not read reviews on the Internet, before seeking out Dr. Childers, who was recommended to me by a dept head @ Nemours as being THE man to see. I may have lost my son & a family ally in the process. Reading them now, after our second appt. w/the doctor, I am astonished, nay experience couldn't be further opposite than the negative reviews I have read! I think the reason our society as a whole is failing is because some people need to pull up their proverbial big boy pants! Dr. Childers is amazing, not only working w/my child, but in hands on mentoring of his attending UF students @ clinic. To watch him work was a real pleasure & an educational experience. He made me almost want to go to medical school. We waited nearly a year for an appt. w/him & it was a year well worth the wait. His demeanor is friendly, straight forward & hands on! I think there are too many people in denial about things w/their children & want to be handled w/kids gloves, others are… unaccepting. People are too sensitive & many times unaccountable for their own behavior as it relates to contributing to their children's developmental issues, especially on a social level. Wake up people! This is about your children, NOT you! You are there to observe & interact when necessary. I think Dr. Childers & his staff are exceptional. They make you feel @ home! Arm yourself w/first hand knowledge before allowing others personal slander cloud your judgment. You owe it to your child to see this doctor! You can always change doctors, if you feel the need to do so.

Awful, awful, awful... I feel less of a parent for placing my child in his presence. I feel sad that I put my child through his assessment. There are ways to get a diagnosis without being a bully. I understand being tough. I am not of the mindset that life needs to be peaches and roses but when parents are coming in vulnerable and broken, a certain level of compassion goes a long way. We left and traveled and though we may have been given the same diagnosis Childers gave us, we have a strong treatment team in place with a doctor who acts professional and doesnt feel the need to be Napoleon and act like a know it all. Our son is thriving and we have an effective treatment plan in place.

Misdiagnosed my child. Confirmed the misdiagnosis with three additional psychologists - one of whom he suggested.