Dr. Patricia M Harkins, MD

Trash

They sent me to collections for a no show fee. Here’s the thing though they forgot to take my child off the schedule after THEY told me my child did not need another appointment. Never called nothing. Just sent me to collections. You can’t call the office to talk to anyone it’s all through email. Good luck getting a email back. When I finally got a email back and they admitted to their mistake they said they might not be able to report their mistake to the collections service because it had been in collections to long. I called them the moment my credit monitoring service notified me. I will be posting negative comments weekly until this is resolved on all platforms.

Very thorough testing and explanation of the results. Her insights helped us to choose better interventions for our children and give us options for IEPs.

My daughter was evaluated in 2005. The report used a template and there were inaccuracies because no one went over the report or just did not care. Some of the information on the report did not even relate to my daughter and her needs. The only suggestion was meds. I did not use her information. I found the time spent there wasted. I went to a homeopath and got immediate and progressive results. My daughter overall has not had difficultly since seeing the homeopath. Parents please look at all options for your child. My daughter is in an excelled program that she has been in for the last three years with no disorder in anything.

Years ago, when my child was diagnosed with ASD, I found Dr. Harkins to be supportive, compassionate and knowledgeable (she has a child with autism). She always has time to listen , and answers questions thoroughly.

When we first went to Dr. Harkins, we were at a loss being told repeatedly "he's a boy," "he has an older sister," and various other ways of being told that he was fine and we were nuts. She had a nurse take a very thorough history over the phone (at least an hour by my recollection) before the appointment, which she then had read and reviewed before the appointment, so she was up to speed. She sat on the floor with our then 3yo and tried to engage him. She did appropriate testing and has repeated it at appropriate intervals. She has been accessible to use for followup visits, even when we had to reschedule or needed an appointment moved up. In the 5 years she has been following our son she has been nothing but patient and kind, even when I refused medication multiple times. Frankly, once I was at my wits end and tried the medication she was suggesting, I wished I had listened when she first suggested we "try' it. She always explains the risk, benefits, and side effects of any… treatment she proposes and the same risk, benefits, and side effects of not treating. After taking our son to Dr. Harkins, we actually took our daughter who had a myriad of seemingly unrelated symptoms in. She helped us get in with a neurologist who paid attention to the constellation of symptoms.It did take over 6 months to wait for our initial appointment. I would suggest if you are thinking maybe you might be thinking about needing one -- make the appointment. That said we have always been able to schedule a followup with no problem whatsoever. I have also been able to reach staff and talk with them on the phone regarding my children.

When the school district first told me they thought my son had Autism, I was devastated. Although I had concerns about his development, his pediatrician took a "wait and see" approach. No other doctors would take my concerns seriously. When Dr. Harkins was first recommended, I hesitated because it would take several months before he could be seen. I discovered good things come to those who wait!Before our first visit, a nurse called our home and spent two hours (free of charge) interviewing me about my son's medical and developmental history. She listened and asked insightful questions, and patiently waited for me as I searched through my son's baby book for answers. When we met Dr. Harkins at my son's first appointment, she spent 90 minutes with us discussing his history and performing his exam. But even more amazing: she sat on the floor and PLAYED with him! As she played, she pointed out her observations and concerns. Once the appointment was finished, she scheduled a full… evaluation and referred him to all necessary specialists. He was diagnosed with Autism and she also discovered he had partial seizures, which exacerbated his developmental delays further. Because she took us seriously and was so detailed in her approach, his treatment plan was appropriate and tailored to meet his strengths (and yes, she saw those, too!) and weaknesses. She continues to monitor his development and helps us learn about and access resources and programs in the area. 6 years later, we are still very satisfied. She has shown patience with us throughout the years. She listened to our questions about alternative treatments, discussed the pros and cons of various approaches, and never judged us when we expressed concerns about medications. She made us part of a treatment team. She educated us about medications, talked about the potential benefits and side effects, and we made decisions together.Dr. Harkins has a wonderful, positive approach with our son. She clearly loves children, and has an optimistic perspective of autism. We are truly blessed with our son, and he provides us with insight and clarity about the meaning of life. Dr. Harkins never treated him or his diagnosis as a life-sentence, but saw him only as the unique and wonderful boy he is. It helps us to know that she also has a child with special needs, so her optimism and perspective goes well beyond the clinic.I highly recommend her to all families concerned about their child's developmental progress. Yes, there is a long wait to get in, but once you do it is well worth it.

After seeing neurologists and other doctors, Dr. HARKINS was the first to really limsten to us. She is very expererienced with autism spectrum disorders and ADD and ADHD. She has children with problems, and I love knowing she really understands what it's like to parent a different kind of child. I recommend her to anyone! It's worth the wait for the first appointment.

She is very PRO-Medication... Our child was diagnosed with ADHD and she did not have any advice about caring for his problems that did not first involve using medications. This was frustrating and discouraging. Her bedside manner was a little rough. However, she was very knowledgable and seemed to really know and understand these types of children.

Dr. Harkins is knowledgeable & thorough developmental testing was provided by her staff. We were offered medication only as a treatment for child's ADHD. We chose not to use medication. Even when requested, Dr. Harkins offered no other treatments or recommendations for my child's ADHD. Her only recommendations were traditional medications or no medications. I found her to be arrogant, unapproachable & unfriendly. She is vertually unavailable to her patients by phone or other methods. When we tried an alternative treatment, she discharged my child.