Dr. Gipson: Physician BioPod
Child Neurologist and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Specialist Tanjala Gipson, MD, works with kids with diagnoses such as autism, ADHD, behavioral challenges and other special needs. After having difficulty finding care for her son who born with developmental delays, she knew she wanted to specialize in providing excellent care for children with special needs. Learn more about Dr. Gipson in this episode of the Peds Pod.
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Tanjala Gipson, MD
Tanjala Gipson, MD
Tanjala Gipson, MD is the Director of the TSC-Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorder Clinic at Le Bonheur Children's.Learn more about Tanjala Gipson, MD
Transcription:
Dr. Gipson: Physician BioPod
Dr. Tanjala Gipson: Hi. My name is Dr. Tanjala Gipson. I am a child neurologist and neurodevelopmental disability specialist at Lebonheur Children's Hospital and also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics.
I was one of those people who decided at a pretty young age that I wanted to be a physician. Maybe I was about eight or nine years old, and I would always run around saying I wanted to be a baby doctor because I really like my pediatrician. So, that's kind of where it started and it just grew from there. As I got older, it never kind of left me.
I graduated from high school in a tiny town called Winnsboro, Winnsboro High School. And then from there, I went to undergrad at Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans. And I went to medical school at Louisiana State in New Orleans. And I started my residency training. The first two years of pediatrics was at Tulane University, again in New Orleans. And then for my specialty training, I finally left the state of Louisiana and I went to Maryland where I trained at Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger in neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities with this specialty, what I focus on is taking care of children and adults who have a variety of special needs or neurodevelopmental disabilities as we might call it. So, that would include diagnoses like autism, ADHD, behavioral challenges when people aren't sure of a diagnosis, intellectual disabilities. So, that's kind of the range of individuals I take care of. And I also specialize in taking care of children and adults with tuberous sclerosis. And that's because in that condition, even though neurodevelopmental disabilities isn't a part of that condition, there's a high rate of autism, like up to 60% of individuals with tuberous sclerosis have autism and about half can develop intellectual disability.
I grew up in Louisiana. I grew up in the south. And what I noticed growing up in the south is that we didn't have very good specialty care for children and adults with special needs. I have a son, you know, who was born developmentally delayed and I couldn't find help for him. I couldn't figure out his diagnosis. I didn't understand what was going on. And initially, I always wanted to be a pediatrician. But in my journey with him, I decided that I wanted to specialize because I didn't want parents to experience what I experienced and that is not understanding his diagnosis, not knowing what type of help he needed, not knowing why that might have happened. And so, I found a training program in Baltimore, Maryland, Child Neurology Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Program, and I decided from there to specialize.
Outside of the office, I am an avid runner. I'm actually a marathoner. I completed my sixth marathon in December. I usually do it at the end of the year, and I love it. I love running. It clears my mind. It gives me time to meditate, it gives me time to think, and then I cross train. I do things like swim and yoga and weight training. So, I'm really into that. I love hanging out with my family. I have four sons total. They're all adults now. Two of them have autism. One's an NFL player, and the other one is working in Atlanta. So, I have a good time hanging out, hanging out with all of them and my husband, you know. So, I'm a real family person.
I would want people to know that, you know, my overall mission is to provide comprehensive, excellent care for children and adults with special needs, regardless of the type of special needs, regardless of the severity, and to make sure that they have ongoing care. Because oftentimes individuals can get an evaluation, but then they're left alone to figure out their management.
In addition to that, also be sure that I provide great education and advocacy for them because navigating the world with a child or an adult with special needs is pretty complex. And I found that to be true for myself and so being there for them to ensure that we are part of the journey.
Caitlin Whyte: Learn more about Lebonheur Children's at lebonheur.org.
Dr. Gipson: Physician BioPod
Dr. Tanjala Gipson: Hi. My name is Dr. Tanjala Gipson. I am a child neurologist and neurodevelopmental disability specialist at Lebonheur Children's Hospital and also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics.
I was one of those people who decided at a pretty young age that I wanted to be a physician. Maybe I was about eight or nine years old, and I would always run around saying I wanted to be a baby doctor because I really like my pediatrician. So, that's kind of where it started and it just grew from there. As I got older, it never kind of left me.
I graduated from high school in a tiny town called Winnsboro, Winnsboro High School. And then from there, I went to undergrad at Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans. And I went to medical school at Louisiana State in New Orleans. And I started my residency training. The first two years of pediatrics was at Tulane University, again in New Orleans. And then for my specialty training, I finally left the state of Louisiana and I went to Maryland where I trained at Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger in neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities with this specialty, what I focus on is taking care of children and adults who have a variety of special needs or neurodevelopmental disabilities as we might call it. So, that would include diagnoses like autism, ADHD, behavioral challenges when people aren't sure of a diagnosis, intellectual disabilities. So, that's kind of the range of individuals I take care of. And I also specialize in taking care of children and adults with tuberous sclerosis. And that's because in that condition, even though neurodevelopmental disabilities isn't a part of that condition, there's a high rate of autism, like up to 60% of individuals with tuberous sclerosis have autism and about half can develop intellectual disability.
I grew up in Louisiana. I grew up in the south. And what I noticed growing up in the south is that we didn't have very good specialty care for children and adults with special needs. I have a son, you know, who was born developmentally delayed and I couldn't find help for him. I couldn't figure out his diagnosis. I didn't understand what was going on. And initially, I always wanted to be a pediatrician. But in my journey with him, I decided that I wanted to specialize because I didn't want parents to experience what I experienced and that is not understanding his diagnosis, not knowing what type of help he needed, not knowing why that might have happened. And so, I found a training program in Baltimore, Maryland, Child Neurology Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Program, and I decided from there to specialize.
Outside of the office, I am an avid runner. I'm actually a marathoner. I completed my sixth marathon in December. I usually do it at the end of the year, and I love it. I love running. It clears my mind. It gives me time to meditate, it gives me time to think, and then I cross train. I do things like swim and yoga and weight training. So, I'm really into that. I love hanging out with my family. I have four sons total. They're all adults now. Two of them have autism. One's an NFL player, and the other one is working in Atlanta. So, I have a good time hanging out, hanging out with all of them and my husband, you know. So, I'm a real family person.
I would want people to know that, you know, my overall mission is to provide comprehensive, excellent care for children and adults with special needs, regardless of the type of special needs, regardless of the severity, and to make sure that they have ongoing care. Because oftentimes individuals can get an evaluation, but then they're left alone to figure out their management.
In addition to that, also be sure that I provide great education and advocacy for them because navigating the world with a child or an adult with special needs is pretty complex. And I found that to be true for myself and so being there for them to ensure that we are part of the journey.
Caitlin Whyte: Learn more about Lebonheur Children's at lebonheur.org.