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Stuart W. Teplin, M.D.
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Dr. Teplin has been a member of the UNC Department of Pediatrics faculty and on the CDL staff and since 1978 (when it was still named the Division for Disorders of Development and Learning). He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, received his undergraduate degree at Brandeis University (Waltham, MA) and his M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania (1973). After completing his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, he spent two years doing a developmental pediatrics fellowship at UCLA. It was here that he deepened his interest in families’ coping with their children’s disabilities and became especially interested in high-risk infants, neuro-development of young children, care of children with cerebral palsy, and the effects of visual impairments on young children’s development. He then moved to Chapel Hill and has been here ever since.
Using grant money awarded from the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities, Dr. Teplin founded the first infant/preschool program in North Carolina for children with blindness and other visual impairments (1984-87). This program eventually was transformed and expanded into the Governor Morehead Preschool Program, which currently serves over 400 children from all 100 counties. Dr. Teplin has written several publications regarding developmental effects of blindness and the role of the pediatrician in managing visually impaired children. He continues to serve on national advisory panels regarding visual impairments.
Another ongoing interest and focus for clinical activities and research has been the area of "high-risk" and premature infants. He has been Co-Director of UNC Hospital’s Special Infant Care Clinic since 1978 and has co-authored several research articles on developmental outcomes of very-low birthweight infants. Other interest areas and publications include training of pediatric residents regarding management of young children with developmental disabilities and their families and children with autistic spectrum disorders. He served as one of two national representatives of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1998-99 on an interdisciplinary NIMH panel charged with writing practice guidelines for early identification of young children with autism. Dr. Teplin has also been on the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization, Partnerships in Assistive Technology since 1997 and currently serves as its secretary.
Dr. Teplin is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. He is currently editor of the section on Journal Article Reviews for the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.
Dr. Teplin enjoys photography, playing guitar and banjo, and listening to music.