Medical Services
Practitioners with specialized intellectual and developmental disability expertise

At Surrey Place, our caring team of doctors and nurses is here to support your health and well-being. We offer personalized health assessments, consultations, recommendations, and referrals in a variety of clinics including:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Behavioural Medical Assessment of Complex Kids and their Environment (BMACKE) Clinic
- Family Medicine Consultation Clinic
- Treatment Research and Education for Autism and Developmental Disorders (TRE-ADD)
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Diagnostic Services
- Plus 45 Clinic
- Adaptive Behavioural Intellectual Developmental Disability Integrated Tertiary Care Youth/Children (ABILITY) Program
- Adult Psychiatric Clinic
- Telemedicine Impact Plus Clinic
Our physicians and nurses provide high-quality care to families and specialized consultation to healthcare providers seeking specialized intellectual and developmental disability expertise. We also contribute to education and knowledge-sharing efforts related to diagnoses and pharmacological strategies and lead all infection control activities at Surrey Place.
To be eligible for these services, clients under 18 must be:
- Registered at Surrey Place
- Referred by a healthcare provider (e.g., physicians, nurse practitioners) or Surrey Place clinician to access all clinics under Nursing
To be eligible for these services, adult clients must be:
- Registered with Developmental Services Ontario (DSO)
- Referred by a healthcare provider (e.g., physicians, nurse practitioners) or Surrey Place clinician to access all clinics under Nursing
Where can I learn more about the physicians who are employed at Surrey Place?
Here is some information about the experience, research and expertise that our physicians bring to Surrey Place:
Dr Loh is a developmental paediatrician and Medical Chief of Staff at Surrey Place.
Clinical: He has worked in the area of assessment of FASD, Behavioural Medical issues, Transition Aged Youth with IDD, and ASD in children with genetic syndromes.
Education: He has co-created curriculum on intellectual & developmental disabilities in undergraduate medical education at U of T such as a clinical skills standardized patient interaction, and visits to community agencies for people with IDD.
Research: He was the leader of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network Toronto site from 2008-2017 and published research on sleep interventions for parents of children with ASD, and the low prevalence of Creatine Deficiency Syndrome in children with ASD. He has also published research on the care of persons with IDD and behaviours that challenge.
CPA: He has worked for many years in advocacy as a member of the steering committee for the Physicians of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Advocacy (PONDA), and was Vice Chair, Chair and Past Chair from 2017-2023. In 2022, he led a group to apply for a new Ontario Medical Association Medical Interest Group in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and is the first Chair.
Significant Work
- Schulze A, Bauman M, Tsai A, Reynolds A, Roberts W, Anagnostou E, Cameron J, Nozzolillo A, Chenj S, Kyriakopoulouk L, Scherer S, Loh A. Low Prevalence of Creatine Deficiency Syndromes in Children with Non-Syndromic Autism. Paediatrics 137 (1), January 2016:e20152672. Impact Factor:5.515. Co Principal Author.
- Malow BA, Adkins KW, Reynolds A, Weiss SK, Loh A, Fawkes D, Katz T, Goldman SE, Madduri N, Hundley R, Clemons T:Parent-Based Sleep Education Improves Sleep Onset Delay in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2014) 44:216-228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013- 1866-z. Impact Factor: 3.476. Co-investigator
- Green L, McNeil K, Boyd K, Grier L, Ketchell M, Loh A, Lunsky Y, McMillan S, Sawyer A, Thakur A, Bradley E. H.E.L.P for behaviours that challenge in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Canadian Family Physician 2018: 64 (Sup 2): pp S23-S31. Impact Factor: 1,908. Collaborator
- Huber JF, Loh A, Monga S, Esufali J, Shouldice M. Development of a Novel MultiDisciplinary Specialized Care Service for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Intellectual/Developmental Disability in a Tertiary Children’s Hospital Setting. Children (Basel). 2022;10(1):57. Published 2022 Dec 27. doi:10.3390/children10010057. Co-Investigator
Dr Niel is a Family Physican, Chief of Developmental Medicine and Clinical Lead, Family Medicine, Developmental Disability Primary Care Program (DDPCP) at Surrey Place.
Clinical: She is a primary care physician with extra training in the care of adults with developmental disabilities (PGY3) from Queen’s University. She is a trained Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) clinician providing the Caring for the Caregiver workshop for caregivers of people with intellectual disabilities with a special interest in the care of black caregivers. She enjoys working with diverse patient populations including newcomers to Canada and culturally adapted care for Black Communities.
Education: She has co-created curriculum on intellectual & developmental disabilities in medical education at U of T such as the Transition to Residency Seminar: Ability in Disability as well as Family Medicine seminars about intellectual disability and health. She has also been a HUB member for the Project ECHO Adult Intellectual Developmental Disability (AIDD) interdisciplinary CME program with CAMH.
Research: Dr. Niel has an interest in implementation science (knowledge translation) and provides Family Medicine support for the DDPCP which strives to promote the primary care of adults with developmental disabilities through the creation of guidelines, educational resources and partnerships.
CPA: She also has interests in mentorship for students from minoritized groups and health literacy.
Significant Work
Mendoza, O., Thakur, A., Niel, U., Thomson, K., Lunsky, Y., & Bobbette, N. (2023). Project ECHO-AIDD: Recommendations for care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities. 17(4): 292-309.
Sullivan, W.F., Diepstra, H., Heng, J.Q., Ally, S., Bradley, E.A., Casson, I., Hennen, B.K., Kelly, M., Korossy, M., McNeil, K.P., Abells, D., Amaria, K., Boyd, K.E., Gemmill, M., Grier, E., Kennie-Kaulbach, N., Ketchell, M., Ladouceur, J., Lepp, A., Lunsky, Y., McMillan, S., Niel, U ., Sacks, S., Shea, S.N., Stringer, K.C., Sue, K., & Witherbee, S. (2018). Primary care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities: 2018 Canadian consensus guidelines. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 64 4 , 254-279.Canadian family physician. 64(4): 254-279
Clinical: Dr. Thakur oversees psychiatric services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across the lifespan.
Education: Dr. Thakur is the co-lead for Project ECHO Ontario for Adults with IDD, a virtual interprofessional education program supporting clinicians across the province in caring for adults with IDD. He has contributed to the development of ECHO curricula, led knowledge translation initiatives, and integrated lived experience into educational design. His work in faculty development and virtual education has been recognized with multiple institutional and national awards. In addition, Dr. Thakur is actively involved in teaching at the University of Toronto, where he leads postgraduate workshops in psychiatry, contributes to curriculum development in neurodevelopmental psychiatry, and supervises medical students and residents.
Research: His research interests are focused on building capacity and expertise in intellectual and developmental disabilities, leadership development and enhancing clinical care and medical education using technology. He has co-led CIHR-funded national studies on promoting brain health in aging adults with IDD, as well as on supporting family caregivers and service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has over 50 peer-reviewed publications and his work has been published in leading journals in psychiatry and medical education.
Creative Professional Activity: Dr. Thakur is the Chair of the Developmental Disabilities Section of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and has been recognized with national awards for his contributions to education and service innovation, including the 2024 CPA-COPCE Award for national excellence in continuing professional development in psychiatry. He also serves in leadership roles within Canadian Psychiatry Association and Ontario Medical Association, contributing to faculty development and neurodevelopmental advocacy.
Clinical: Throughout her medical training and in her clinical career, she has developed skills to provide comprehensive, patient-centred care to adults with IDD through a family medicine lens.
Education: She is passionate about teaching medical students and residents about the importance of providing care for people with IDD and the health gaps that exist for this population, especially as they transition into adulthood. She has been a part of designing and evaluating the curriculum for undergraduate medical education at UofT, facilitating and teaching sessions for UofT and Queen’s medical students, and is taking part in IDD primary care module and resource development.
Research: With a Master’s in Rehabilitation Science prior to medical school, she has had experience in a variety of disability research. Notably, she has published an evaluation of the undergraduate medical curriculum at UofT and presented these findings at conferences.
Creative Professional Activity: She is involved with a variety of professional and advocacy groups as a member of the CFPC Member Interest Group in Developmental Disabilities, and the OMA Member Interest Group in Neurodevelopmental Disorders. For many years, she has also been an advocate and coach for Special Olympics.
Relevant research:
Dr. Marian Coret is an adolescent medicine pediatrician at the Hospital for Sick Children and contributes to the Adolescent Medicine and ABILITY Program, which is a collaborative program with Surrey Place.
Clinical: Marian provides adolescent medicine care to youth with ASD and IDD with restricted eating, obesity, reproductive health concerns, and complex medical and mental health challenges.
Education: She provides education and mentorship to medical students, residents, and subspecialty residents at the University of Toronto.
Research: Her research interests are in neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD, ADHD, IDD) and restricted eating, reproductive health, mental health challenges, and complex medical presentations among neurodiverse youth.
CPA: She helped to develop adolescent medicine based inpatient consultation for youth with ASD and IDD within the ABILITY Program (Adaptive, Behavioural, Intellectual/Developmental Disability, Integrated Tertiary care for Youth & Children) at the Hospital for Sick Children.provides individualized and adaptive care for neurodiverse patients requiring tertiary care at SickKids hospital.
Clinical: Dr. Fernandes is a general psychiatrist specialized in the care for adults with developmental disabilities. She works in the Adult Neurodevelopmental Services outpatient clinic and at Surrey Place providing psychiatric consultation to adults with IDD.
Education/ Research: Her main research and teaching interests center on the psychiatric care provided to adults with a developmental disability. Previous projects have included the care this population receives in the acute care setting and most recently the care they receive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Joelene Huber is a developmental paediatrician and the Medical Lead of the ABILITY Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, which is a collaborative program with Surrey Place.
Clinical: Clinically, she specializes in the assessment and care of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, with a particular emphasis on providing adaptive, individualized care for neurodiverse patients requiring tertiary care at SickKids hospital.
Education: She teaches medical, post-graduate, and health care professional students at the University of Toronto.
Research: Her research focuses on autism spectrum disorder and improving hospital care for neurodiverse patients.
CPA: As Medical Lead, she developed the ABILITY Program (Adaptive, Behavioural, Intellectual/Developmental Disability, Integrated Tertiary care for Youth & Children) at the Hospital for Sick Children. This innovative, multidisciplinary program provides individualized and adaptive care for neurodiverse patients requiring tertiary care at SickKids hospital.
Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto,
Educational Lead, ABILITY Program, Sick Kids, in partnership with Surrey Place
Clinical: Miriam Maarse is passionate about providing care to patients with neurodevelopmental conditions. She works as an in-patient physician on the ABILITY team at Sick Kids, providing in-hospital developmental support and consultation for neurodiverse youth and their families, as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Education: Miriam has longstanding roles in postgraduate and undergraduate education. Her academic interests include improving care for autistic children/youth and she has worked to create and implement new diagnostic pathways for this population.
Clinical: She supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with special focus on transition aged youth, as well as working with the adult FASD diagnostic team at Surrey Place.
Education: She enjoys teaching medical learners in clinic. She also delivers lectures on primary care and the care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to Genetic Counselling students as well as second year medical students through her role as the Co-Week Lead for Complex Pediatrics and Developmental Disabilities week at Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Research: She completed her Master’s in Neuroscience at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s University. Currently, her research interests lay in the use of tools to support physicians care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and creating opportunities to teach family medicine residents how to care for this population in their future careers.
Dr. Remington is a psychiatrist at Surrey Place. His clinical focus is on the treatment of psychiatric disorders in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with a special interest in the role of sleep. He completed his psychiatry residency as well as a sleep fellowship at the University of Toronto.

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