By Deborah Moon and Stevie Mack
Dr. Raun Melmed believes that differences between people need not divide us. As a developmental pediatrician, he has devoted his life to ensuring those with developmental disabilities are part of our society.
Born in South Africa, Dr. Melmed is no stranger to how differences can divide people. But South Africa also provided him with this quote from Nelson Mandela: “We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us – it is in everyone.”
In the introduction to his 2011 book, Autism Early Intervention: Fast Facts, Dr. Melmed writes, “Our goal is to honor the glory that is in every individual and to enhance his or her fullest potential.”
He emphasizes the book is a resource guide intended to support, not replace, advice from medical professionals. “Parents need a road map – something that will help them understand what to expect and where to turn for assistance.”
He also recognizes that the impacts of a child’s challenges are far reaching.
In a 2015 book he co-authored with Maria Wheeler, M.Ed., he examines how autism affects grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Autism and the Extended Family: A Guide for Those Outside the Immediate Family Who Know and Love Someone with Autism helps families come to grips with how an autism diagnosis changes relationships within the family.
His books draw on the relationships he has developed with the families of his patients.
The Melmed Center provides a compassionate, state-of-the-art approach to the assessment and treatment of behavioral, educational and developmental challenges in children and adults. While the Melmed Center addresses ADHD, other learning disabilities and early intervention programs, it is the work in autism and fragile X syndrome that stands out. Besides diagnosis and understanding specific medical needs, the Melmed Center specializes in compassion as they deal with the everyday challenges families see when caring for their children.
“We see children and adults with developmental problems,” says Dr. Melmed. “We hold the family together as gently as possible. It is very difficult to hear, for the first time, that your child has autism.”
Two of those mothers struggling to deal with this perplexing disorder inspired Dr. Melmed to create another institution to aid families dealing with developmental disabilities.
In 1997 Dr. Melmed and those moms, Denise Resnik and Cindy Schneider, co-founded Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (autismcenter.org) as a virtual research center that, according to the center’s website, “not only answered questions about autism, but questioned the answers.”
A year later SARRC opened its first facility, which at 1,800 square feet seemed ample, but the group outgrew that space in just 18 months. SARRC now has three centers to provide a lifetime of support, research treatment options and education for the public.
“SARRC has been my life,” says Dr. Melmed.
That life began half a world away.
“Growing up in South Africa, I was born into a house of privilege,” he says. He had a rich Jewish upbringing. He went to Hebrew day school as a child, then Herzlia High School, a Jewish school with a top sporting program, a marching band and all the opportunities afforded to a young student.
“Herzlia was a great educational experience,” says Dr. Melmed.
But, while South Africa is where he grew up, medicine and his desire to work in the United States eventually brought him here, where his medical life has flourished.
“I knew at a very early age that I wanted to work on children’s medical issues,” says Dr. Melmed.
New York City is where he started his career in pediatric medicine. A couple of years there had him looking for a new challenge, new adventures. That attitude led to one of the most rewarding experiences of Dr. Melmed’s life when he got a chance to work with the Navajo at the Cienta Arizona Indian Reservation.
“I loved it there,” he says. Bringing children’s medicine to a remote part of the country definitely had its appeal, and it was difficult for Dr. Melmed to move on. But move on he did when he returned to New York City, this time at the New York Brookdale Medical Center.
The good doctor has always been a forward thinker, so working in New York was great for his career, but – in the grand scheme – he had bigger things on his mind. Those ideas started to come to fruition when he achieved his childhood goal of working at the Boston Children’s Hospital, where he received a fellowship.
Boston Children’s Hospital is, arguably, the finest facility in the country for children’s medical care. It sits adjacent to the Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer facility, a partnership that allows the three facilities to combat many children’s diseases, especially cancer.
“It was a dream come true for me to work there,” says Dr. Melmed.
Later, Dr. Melmed moved his skills to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where he spent his time primarily on developmental pediatrics. There was something satisfying about working with families to try to identify and manage major health problems in their children while helping those families manage the care.
All that experience, all that travel and all that passion led to the development of the Melmed Center in 1989.
Obviously, Dr. Melmed has dedicated his life to the betterment of children and their families. He is recognized worldwide as a leader in his field. But just as impressive is the time he gives to the local Phoenix Jewish community.
He is a participant in the Council for Jews with Special Needs in Phoenix, where they work to integrate children into synagogues and schools. In addition, he works with Lexis Preparatory Academy, serving children and adolescents with special needs and disorders. The goal is to make sure their problems are recognized and treated so they can go on to live productive lives.
If you didn’t think Dr. Melmed was cool enough already, his work with the Friendship Circle, which pairs kids with special needs with appropriate role models, shows that this guy is a rock star.
“There is a famous quote, ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me?’ So, it is my lifelong dream to work with children, and I reached that goal,” he says.
Dr. Melmed is doing amazing things with his skill set, his facility and his expertise. But it might never have happened if he hadn’t been willing to dream.
A multitude of children and families in this world are grateful that he did.
