To make an appointment with Dr. Laurie Zelinger or Dr. Jordan Zelinger, contact Dr. Laurie by phone (516) 295-0993 or email drzelinger@drzelinger.com.
Dr. Jordan performs neuropsychological evaluations on weekends.
Dr. Laurie sees children in her private office on Monday through Friday until 8:00pm. To begin the process, a Parent Consultation appointment is made, preferably with both parents if there are two. These appointments are performed via Zoom during school hours Monday through Thursdays, last about 60-75 minutes, and are not attended by children. The appointment focuses on the child’s developmental history as well as the reason for referral, and gives Dr. Zelinger and the parents a chance to get acquainted with one another. Once the Parent Consultation appointment has been completed and both parties decide to move forward, an appointment is made for the child.
Therapy appointments run 45 minutes and are usually held one time weekly for the first two-three months, but may become less frequent as the child’s symptoms improve. Children progress at their own rates and the length of therapy often cannot be predicted at the outset.
Often parents do not know what to tell their child about the first visit. Since the parents will have already met Dr. Zelinger at the Parent Consultation, try saying something like this:
“I met a lady whose job it is to play with children who (insert your child’s symptom; i.e. worry a lot, get in trouble in school, whose moms and dads don’t live together, who are afraid of thunder storms, etc.) and she was so nice. She has a cool playroom with all kinds of toys that I think you’ll like. She’s a mommy and a grandma and she knows all about things that bother kids. I want to go back so you can meet her too. Her name is Dr. Laurie but she’s not the kind of doctor that examines you or gives shots or throat cultures. She only has toys because she is a playing doctor. Let’s look at pictures of her office together on the computer, so you can think of questions you want to ask her when we go together.”
Dr. Laurie uses the first ten minutes of each session to meet with the parent and child together to discuss pertinent content from the child’s week. Following that discussion, the parent is asked to return to the waiting room while Dr. Zelinger and the child have their therapy session together. When the session is over, parents are invited into the playroom to set up the next appointment and provide payment. They are encouraged NOT to ask the child what they talked about, as children need to feel free to play out or talk about whatever they wish, without having to account for it afterward. But it is certainly acceptable to make a comment about what you might notice in the room when you enter. “Wow, it looks like you’ve been painting.” “I heard a lot of noise coming from the room. You must have been busy.” When children have difficulty separating from a parent or are extremely anxious, parents are permitted to stay in the playroom but asked to take their cues from the therapist.
Children DO NOT have to clean up after themselves. That would be undoing all their work. Because cleaning up and sanitizing toys is MY job, I start and end appointments promptly in order to ready the playroom for the next child.
In advance of the Consultation, parents are asked to download, fill out and return, the three sets of forms available on this website. They are: Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA), Childhood Developmental History Intake, and Authorization for Use or Disclosure of Protected Health Information. If the child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), the parents are asked tof urnish Dr. Laurie with a copy. In addition, in cases of divorce, parents are asked to show legal documentation regarding shared or custodial responsibility for the child.
Payment practices are discussed on the phone or in person. Other than emergencies, parents are asked to give 24-hour notice when canceling appointments to avoid being responsible for session fees.
