Getting to know the physicians behind ABC Pediatrics, the services they offer, and what I learned about how they help families navigate referrals and specialized care.
I recently had the opportunity to visit ABC Pediatrics in McKinney, Texas, where I met with several of the physicians and introduced them to the work we’re doing at Bright Pathways ABA.
One of the things I enjoy most about visiting pediatric practices across North Texas is seeing how different offices operate and getting to know the professionals who care for families in our communities.
ABC Pediatrics made a great first impression. The office was beautiful, welcoming, and clearly busy, with a professional atmosphere that reflected an established pediatric practice.
I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Suzanne Davis, Dr. Marisa Rosales, and Dr. Steven Rodrigues, each of whom brought a slightly different perspective to our conversations about autism therapy and connecting families with appropriate services.
One point in particular stayed with me.
When I asked Dr. Rodrigues what mattered most to him when referring patients to an ABA therapy provider, his answer was refreshingly practical: communication.
He wanted to know that the children he referred were actually getting connected with services, not simply receiving a recommendation and disappearing into an intake process.
It’s a simple expectation, but an important one. And it speaks to a broader issue in pediatric healthcare: making a referral is only the beginning. What happens afterward matters just as much.
That conversation sparked my interest in learning more about ABC Pediatrics, the physicians behind the practice, and the services they provide to McKinney families.
More Than 20 Years of Pediatric Care in McKinney
ABC Pediatrics has been serving families in McKinney and the surrounding communities for more than two decades.
The practice provides pediatric care from infancy through adolescence, supporting children through the many stages of growth and development.
Its website emphasizes the importance of working in partnership with parents, recognizing that caring for a child’s health involves both medical expertise and an understanding of each family’s needs.
That long-term relationship is one of the most valuable aspects of pediatric primary care.
A pediatrician may first meet a child as a newborn and continue caring for that same patient through elementary school, the teenage years, and eventually high school graduation.
Over time, that continuity can help physicians recognize changes in a child’s health, development, behavior, and overall well-being.
ABC Pediatrics is also an independent pediatric practice, offering families another option alongside the larger hospital-affiliated healthcare systems operating throughout North Texas.
Meet the Physicians at ABC Pediatrics
ABC Pediatrics currently lists four board-certified pediatricians on its website:
- Dr. Suzanne Davis, MD, FAAP
- Dr. Marisa Rosales, MD, FAAP
- Dr. Steven Rodrigues, MD, FAAP
- Dr. Rachael Johnston, MD, FAAP
I had the opportunity to meet the first three during my visit.
Dr. Suzanne Davis — The Physician Behind the Practice
Dr. Suzanne Davis is the physician who established ABC Pediatrics.
Originally from Dallas, she grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and attended medical school at the University of Missouri–Columbia.
She returned to North Texas for her pediatric residency at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.
Over the course of her career, she has also held pediatric leadership roles at Medical Center of McKinney and Presbyterian Hospital of Allen, serving as chief and vice chief of pediatrics.
Her biography on the practice’s website describes her appreciation for the close-knit atmosphere that a smaller pediatric office can provide.
It was a pleasure to meet the physician behind a practice that has become an established part of the McKinney pediatric community.
Dr. Marisa Rosales — Helping Families Find the Right Resources
I also had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Marisa Rosales.
Our conversation focused primarily on how she determines which outside providers to recommend when children need services such as ABA therapy.
What stood out was how practical her approach was.
She explained that two of the biggest factors in deciding where to refer a family are insurance acceptance and waitlist availability.
That makes a lot of sense.
A provider might offer excellent services, but if the family cannot use its insurance or must wait months to begin treatment, the referral may not be especially helpful.
Dr. Rosales also mentioned that, in her experience, families generally seem to have positive experiences with ABA providers. Rather than maintaining a list of organizations she avoids, she focuses on identifying options that can actually accommodate the family.
I appreciated that perspective.
I also shared a list of local autism evaluation providers, which she was interested in keeping as an additional resource.
Dr. Steven Rodrigues — Why Communication After a Referral Matters
My conversation with Dr. Steven Rodrigues was particularly interesting because he seemed very familiar with ABA therapy and the practical challenges families encounter when trying to begin services.
He asked about the insurance plans Bright Pathways accepts and how our organization operates.
I then asked him a question I often like to ask referring physicians:
What is most important to you when choosing an ABA therapy provider for your patients?
His answer was communication.
Specifically, he wanted referring physicians to receive updates about whether their patients were successfully moving through the intake process and beginning therapy.
That struck me as an important point.
When a pediatrician identifies a developmental concern and recommends specialized services, the physician remains part of that child’s broader healthcare team.
Knowing whether the child has started treatment helps the pediatrician stay informed and better support the family during future appointments.
It also helps prevent a common problem in healthcare: a referral being made without anyone knowing whether it ultimately led to care.
This reminded me of something I’ve written about previously in Inside North Dallas’ Rapidly Evolving Pediatric Ecosystem. North Texas has many healthcare providers, but coordinating referrals and making sure families successfully connect with services can still be surprisingly complicated.
Dr. Rodrigues’ emphasis on communication speaks directly to that challenge.
What Services Does ABC Pediatrics Offer?
ABC Pediatrics provides a broad range of primary care services for infants, children, and adolescents.
According to the practice’s website, these include:
- Newborn care: Medical care for babies beginning shortly after birth.
- Well-child visits: Routine appointments to monitor growth, development, nutrition, and overall health.
- Sick visits: Evaluation and treatment for common childhood illnesses and medical concerns.
- Immunizations: Routine childhood vaccinations following the practice’s published immunization policy.
- Developmental and behavioral concerns: Evaluation and management of concerns involving development, learning, and behavior.
- Chronic condition management: Care for conditions such as asthma, allergies, eczema, and ADHD.
- Adolescent healthcare: Medical care addressing the needs of older children and teenagers.
- School and sports physicals: Health examinations for school participation and athletic activities.
The practice also provides guidance for parents on common childhood health questions, including medication dosing and when to seek medical attention.
One particularly useful feature is its Saturday morning sick-visit availability for established patients.
For working parents, having an additional opportunity to see their child’s pediatrician on a weekend can be valuable, especially when an illness develops late in the week.
The practice also offers an online patient portal that allows families to communicate with the office, review medical information, access vaccination records, and request medication refills.
How Referrals Work at ABC Pediatrics
One of the more useful things I learned during my visit was how the office handles referrals to outside providers.
Based on my conversations, the physicians generally determine which providers they recommend based on the child’s needs and practical factors such as insurance and availability.
The administrative team then helps process and send those referrals.
I had the opportunity to meet several members of the office team, including Misty, who assists with referrals, as well as Jackie, the office manager, and other front-desk staff.
It’s easy to overlook how much coordination happens behind the scenes in a pediatric office.
A physician may identify the need for specialized care, but administrative staff often play an important role in gathering information, sending referrals, and helping families navigate the next steps.
This becomes especially relevant when a child needs an autism evaluation or ABA therapy.
Why Insurance and Waitlists Matter So Much
Imagine a family whose pediatrician recommends ABA therapy following an autism diagnosis.
The family may be ready to begin services, but there are still several practical questions:
Does the ABA provider accept the child’s insurance? Is there a waitlist? Can the provider serve the family’s location? How long will insurance authorization take? And does the provider have the clinical team necessary to begin treatment?
These factors can significantly affect how quickly a child receives care.
Dr. Rosales’ emphasis on insurance and waitlist availability reflects a practical understanding of those challenges.
It’s also why I believe ABA providers should make it easy for referring pediatricians to understand their insurance participation, service areas, and current availability.
Autism Evaluations — An Important Step for Many Families
Another topic that came up during my visit was access to comprehensive autism evaluations.
Several of the physicians were interested in knowing whether Bright Pathways ABA performs autism diagnostic assessments.
We currently focus on providing ABA therapy rather than conducting comprehensive autism evaluations ourselves.
However, we regularly help families identify local professionals who can provide diagnostic assessments.
I brought a list of autism evaluation resources to share with the practice, including Lifespan Psychological Services and other North Texas providers.
For families searching for an assessment, we’ve also put together a Texas Autism Evaluation Provider Directory that includes providers throughout the state, along with their locations and published insurance information.
For parents unfamiliar with the process, there is an important distinction between a developmental screening and a comprehensive autism evaluation.
Pediatricians regularly monitor developmental milestones and may use screening tools when concerns arise.
When a child needs a formal diagnostic assessment, the family may be referred to a qualified psychologist, developmental-behavioral pediatrician, or another appropriately trained professional.
A comprehensive evaluation may involve reviewing the child’s developmental history, interviewing caregivers, observing behavior, and using standardized assessment tools.
For parents who are new to this process, our guide on What to Expect During the Autism Evaluation Process explains the different stages of an assessment and how families can prepare.
Finding the right evaluation provider often depends on insurance acceptance, the child’s age, the type of assessment needed, and appointment availability.
Insurance can be especially complicated when families are looking for diagnostic services. For example, we’ve put together a guide to in-network BCBS Texas autism evaluators in Dallas to help parents explore options based on their coverage.
I’ve also previously written about several North Dallas evaluation resources in my article, Inside North Dallas’ Rapidly Evolving Pediatric Ecosystem.
For families navigating these concerns, their pediatrician is often an excellent starting point.
ABC Pediatrics’ Insurance Policies — What Parents Should Know
One important detail for families considering ABC Pediatrics is the practice’s insurance policy.
According to its website, ABC Pediatrics accepts most commercial insurance plans.
However, the practice states that it is not currently accepting new patients with marketplace, HMO, or Medicaid plans.
This distinction is important. Not all commercial insurance products are necessarily eligible, and a particular insurance company’s name alone does not guarantee that a specific plan is accepted.
Parents should contact the office to confirm that their physician and insurance network are compatible before scheduling an appointment.
The practice also explains that it submits claims to patients’ primary insurance plans but does not file secondary insurance claims.
For families with commercial coverage who are looking for an established independent pediatric practice in McKinney, ABC Pediatrics may be an option worth exploring.
How Bright Pathways ABA Supports Families Referred by Pediatricians
My visit to ABC Pediatrics also reinforced something we place considerable importance on at Bright Pathways ABA: keeping referring physicians informed.
When a pediatrician recommends ABA therapy, we want the family to have a clear path forward, from the initial inquiry through insurance verification, assessments, authorization, and the start of services.
We also recognize the importance of communicating meaningful updates back to the referring office, when appropriate and consistent with the family’s privacy preferences and applicable requirements.
That’s something Dr. Rodrigues specifically emphasized, and I think it’s a valuable expectation for ABA organizations generally.
Individualized, Home-Based ABA Therapy
At Bright Pathways ABA, we provide individualized, one-on-one ABA therapy in children’s homes and other appropriate natural environments throughout McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Allen, Prosper, and other Texas communities.
Our services are designed to help children develop meaningful skills in areas such as communication, social interaction, independence, and daily living.
Our Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) oversee treatment and work with families to develop goals based on each child’s individual needs.
We also don’t impose a blanket age cutoff when considering children for services. Although many of the children we currently support are younger, we consider older children and teenagers when our clinical team has the expertise and staffing to serve them appropriately.
Insurance and Current Availability
For families looking to begin ABA therapy, insurance participation and availability are often among the first questions.
We currently have no waitlists for families with BCBS commercial, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare/Optum/UMR insurance.
We work particularly closely with Blue Cross Blue Shield, allowing us to move through the intake process and get families started fastest with BCBS commercial insurance.
We also work with Texas Medicaid and other insurance plans, although Medicaid families should generally expect a longer wait because of the more time-consuming insurance approval and staffing process.
Our intake team helps families navigate benefits verification, assessments, insurance authorizations, and coordination of their therapy team.
Families interested in learning more can visit Bright Pathways ABA.
Visiting ABC Pediatrics in McKinney
For parents interested in learning more about ABC Pediatrics, here are the practice’s published contact details.
ABC Pediatrics
Address: 5333 West University Drive, McKinney, TX 75071
Phone: (972) 569-9904
Fax: (972) 569-9943
Website: ABC Pediatrics – McKinney
Office hours:
- Monday–Friday: 8:30 AM–5:00 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM (sick visits for established patients only)
- Sunday: Closed
Appointments are required. Families should confirm current scheduling availability and insurance participation directly with the practice.
Expectant parents may also be interested in the practice’s complimentary prenatal introductory appointments, which provide an opportunity to become familiar with the office before their baby arrives.
Final Thoughts — A Referral Is Only the Beginning
I enjoyed visiting ABC Pediatrics and meeting several of the physicians and staff who help care for McKinney families.
The office itself made a wonderful impression, and it was interesting to learn more about a practice that has been serving the community for over 20 years.
But what I found most valuable was the practical perspective the physicians brought to our discussions about referrals.
Dr. Rosales emphasized insurance acceptance and availability. Dr. Rodrigues emphasized communication and knowing whether children actually begin services.
Together, those points highlight something that matters enormously to families: access to care is not just about receiving a referral. It’s about successfully connecting with the services a child needs.
For McKinney parents seeking an established pediatric practice, ABC Pediatrics is worth getting to know.
And for families navigating autism evaluations or ABA therapy, I hope the resources and information shared here make that process a little easier.
