Saint Peter’s Children’s Hospital Expands Services with Addition of Developmental Pediatrics Specialist

Saidi Clemente, MD, Brings Decades of Experience in Autism, ADHD, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Dr. Clemente has experience with a host of diagnostic tools including the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, second edition) which is used to assess and diagnose ASD in children and adults. In addition, she has expertise in psychotropic medication management which has been shown to help children and adolescents with behavioral, emotional, or developmental conditions function better in their daily lives. Dr. Clemente is fluent in both English and Spanish, with familiarity in Portuguese, enabling her to serve a broad and diverse patient population.

Prior to joining Saint Peter's, Dr. Clemente served as an attending physician in Developmental Pediatrics at Goryeb Children's Hospital at Atlantic Health in Morristown, New Jersey, where she was part of a multidisciplinary team and led medical education for pediatric residents. Before that, Dr. Clemente founded and directed the Developmental Pediatrics Division at Cohen Children's Hospital at Staten Island University Hospital. Earlier in her career, Dr. Clemente was an attending physician at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey and had served as medical director of the Weill Cornell-New York Hospital Early Intervention Program and an instructor in pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical School.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Clemente to our team," said Siva Prasad Jonna, MD, chair, Department of Pediatrics, and physician-in-chief of Saint Peter's Children's Hospital. "Her depth of experience in evaluating and treating children with autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders, combined with her passion for medical education and her ability to serve Spanish-speaking families, makes her an invaluable addition to our pediatric program."

"I am excited to join Saint Peter's Children's Hospital and to complement the comprehensive, compassionate care offered to children and their families in this community," said Dr. Clemente. "Children who need developmental support thrive when they receive it early and consistently."

Saint Peter's Children's Hospital is a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) by The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a designation awarded to organizations whose staff have undergone autism-specific training to equip them with the supportive skills and resources to provide the best experience possible to every child that visits the hospital.
Dr. Clemente earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, and her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore and her fellowship in neurodevelopmental disabilities at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, both in Bronx, New York.
To schedule an appointment for your child with Dr. Clemente, call 732.339.7045.

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About Saint Peter's Children's Hospital
Saint Peter's Children's Hospital is a state-designated acute care children's hospital and Regional Perinatal Center sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen that provides families with access to a full range of pediatric specialties, including a nationally renowned Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a dedicated Pediatric Emergency Department, adolescent medicine, cancer care, diabetes, cardiology/congenital heart disease, orthopedics, surgery, developmental pediatrics, gastroenterology, allergy and immunology, infectious disease medicine, nephrology, neurology, pediatric intensive care, pulmonary/sleep medicine, audiology and physical therapy. Other programs and services include Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine, which counsels, tests and treats children with rare diseases; the Craniofacial and Neurosurgical Center, which offers corrective surgery and multidisciplinary support for children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities; the Dorothy B. Hersh Regional Child Protection Center, a state-designated regional Diagnostic and Treatment Center for child abuse prevention; and the Center for Diabetes Self-Management and Education, which diagnoses and treats children with diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

Saint Peter's has received advanced certification in Perinatal Care and Level IV Maternal Levels of Care verification from the Joint Commission and the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for its neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care units. Saint Peter's University Hospital has been redesignated as a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center of the American Nurses Association, making Saint Peter's one of only five hospitals worldwide at the time to receive this designation for seven consecutive terms, and for the first time, with Distinction®.

Visit saintpetershcs.com/childrenshospital or call 732.565.KIDS [5437].