Ages seen: All
Clinic Director: Dr. Gail Reiner, DNP, FNP-C
Physician Consultant: Kristen Wigby, MD
Clinic Coordinator: Marlene Uriarte
Email: gereiner@health.ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-966-5819
Web: https://www.rchsd.org/
Osman UmarjiI am Osman Umarji and I represent Southern California (Orange County). My son, Malik, is currently 6 and was diagnosed at age 3. We have been affiliated with PRISMS since we received the diagnosis. PRISMS has helped our family in so many ways. It has provided our family with many great educational resources (website and conferences) to help us to better understand SMS for ourselves and education our family, friends, and Malik’s teachers. Furthermore, PRISMS has helped us connect with many other SMS families, which has helped us learn about different medical, educational and social programs that Malik has benefited from. Connecting with other families also gives us comfort in knowing that there are amazing families who are ready to help us at any moment. I am happy to be of service in helping parents with a young child with SMS. In particular, issues related to preschool and elementary school education are an are of strength of me, including finding extracurricular activities for SMS kids.
Laurie BelletMy name is Laurie Bellet. My daughter, Ariel, was born in 1985 and has been diagnosed with SMS. In 1995, I joined the PRISMS Board. Our family greatly benefited from early SMS research. Ariel was one of the first confirmed with the RAI1 deletion. Professional and personal connections through PRISMS have been precious. I am a long-time teacher and have served as an IEP advocate for several children in our SMS community both locally and long-distance. I am an expert in navigating resources in northern California and connecting with specialists who have SMS experience. I have also conferenced and facilitated strategies and relationships with classroom teachers who are challenged by students with SMS. Ariel has 2 older brothers, a niece, a nephew and a boyfriend!
Trevor GritmanMy name is Trevor Gritman. My son is Boston, and he is 7 years old! He was diagnosed with SMS at 10 months old. We have been affiliated with PRISMS for about 6 years, shortly after his diagnosis. When we attended the 2012 International Conference in Colorado, we found it to be a wonderful resources as it provided us much of the information that we could not find anywhere else. We felt lost until we found PRISMS. When thinking about being a representative, I noticed that there were not many SMS dads volunteering and feel that my perspective might be received well by fathers of newly diagnosed children.
Diane ErthMy name is Diane Erth, and I am the San Diego Regional Representative for PRISMS as well as a newly appointed PRISMS Board Member. I live in San Diego, Ca with my husband, Joe, and my 8 year old son, Max. I am a Stay at Home Mom but I feel I deserve a more elaborate title as I find myself wearing many hats and often several at the same time.
Max was diagnosed with Smith-Magenis Syndrome at just 30 days old. We did a lot of research online and found PRISMS. We reached out to the then President and were able to ask questions about his daughter. It was good to talk to another parent about our concerns.
I have made it a personal goal to welcome and offer support to all SMS families and to be available to answer questions and help the newly diagnosed families. Sometimes, venting to another SMS parent is what is needed. While I’m no pro, I do have knowledge of the services available in my area and am happy to help others get the support that they need in raising a child with SMS.
Please feel free to call or email me if you need anything. I can’t promise I have all the answers, in fact, I CAN promise that I don’t, but I am ready and willing to help other families on this wild journey called SMS.
Charlene LiaoI am Charlene Liao, Ph.D. training in molecular biology and immunology. I live in San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. I have been with PRISMS for over 17 years and served as PRISMS Board Member for a period of time. My daughter Connie was diagnosed with SMS when she was 6 years old, even though we knew there was something unusual about her since she was born and despite having best access to doctors and specialists at UCSF and Stanford. She now goes to an adult day program. My husband is a professor at Stanford who together with his students have made significant progress in understanding the neurological abnormalities associated with SMS through studies in mice. Both of us are involved with the PRISMS Research Roundtable and SMS Research Foundation to some extent.
