Don't let the "Children's" part intimidate you if you're an adult looking for a good neuro. If you're a parent looking for a great neuro for your child, you keep reading, too. I've been through at least 25 neurologists in six different states. I've had epilepsy since 1991 from a nasty head injury. There have been some that have been close to what I want while others have been downright, off-the-charts awful. I went into Dr. Stein's office for my initial consultation expecting the worst. Moving to a new state = finding new neuro. As bad as finding a new hairstylist only for epilepsy. Dr. Stein came in, took her shoes off, curled up in her chair and started talking. And not the cynical "Oh yea? Prove it." kind of talking. "Wow. You've been through a lot." (Translation? She'd reviewed my info ahead of time so I didn't have to launch into my long, long story.) She even noticed that I'm more relaxed by an open door so we switched places and she left the door ajar for me. I should have known something awesome was up from the first time I talked to Nicole, her nurse. Funny, friendly, knowledgeable and if you've got a question she'll not hesitate to pick up the phone and find out for you. She even helped me find an ophthalmologist. When I asked her about appointment times with Dr. Stein she said, "She sets about two hours aside for each patient." WOW. For anyone who's been to a doctor in their lives, this is most definitely the exception not the rule Dr. Stein is the noggin doctor you want. read more

Dr Stein should not be working with children. My son is autistic as well as adhd and she clearly could not handle him. He made her a nervous wreck. She actually told me i dont know how you have gone this long without strangling him. That wasnt the only remark that was completely out of line. She was frustrated that we had a hard time finding a med he could take. She prescribed him a med that they were no longer making and when I couldn't find it refused to prescribe something different till the next appointment a month later. She is absolutely horrible. The things she said about my son and her uncaring smart a** attitude are appalling. She isna pediatric neurologist but is a nervous wreck when faced with a typical autistic child with high energy. She should retire and crawl back in the hole she came from! read more

I'm surprised by the negative reviews in here. The experience during our first visit has been amazing. Everyone from the front office staff to the nurse and Dr. stein were very attentive and prompt. I loved that the time of out appointment was honored and the bulk of our time there was spent with the doctor, not like other places I've been to where you're in the waiting room for an hour and 10-15 minutes with the doctor. We visited dr Stein to see my son and she was definitely very thorough. She asked questions as far back as his birth and I noticed she took the time to read the questionnaires I submitted before the initial visit. She made extensive notes, and asked me and my son lots of questions. I appreciated that. Overall, we are looking forward to working with Dr. stein, there will be future appointments and I am sure that I will be updating my review as time goes on. read more

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I saw Dr. Stein when I was younger, she is VERY smart. At the time my parents just couldn't find a pediatric neurologist, the turn over rate in Orange County was ridiculous. Dr. Stein was out of network so it was very expensive to see her but anything was worth it at that time. Dr. Stein was an interesting person. She did help me, I have to give her credit for that. She switched me on to a brand name of my current medication and it helped my seizures immensely. Although, she always tried upsetting my parents and they would always do anything and everything for me. She tricked them in buying this awful seizure detector mat for my bed. EVERYTIME I tossed or turned an alarm went off, this device was so sensitive. It was about a thousand dollars, my mom gave it to one of her friends whose infant daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy. It seemed to work better for the baby because obviously she would only moved during a seizure. Great concept, awful make! I suggest if you're at your last straw with neurologists go see Dr. Stein. She is smart but we all just didn't click I guess. The appointments were just so expensive and she spent most of her time upselling my parents. She sent me to this IQ test a student gave me and the student basically said I had a very low IQ, Well I have a great job and am in nursing school so don't let her send you as a guinea pig to students. (I have a theory she received an incentive for doing that) I was SO happy when I turned 18 and more neurologists would see me as an adult. I absolutely adore my neurologist now. read more

I took my son here shortly after he turned two because his speech therapist thought he could be on the autism spectrum. We were still in denial, so we saw Dr Stein. She basically told us what we wanted to hear, that he was not on the spectrum and just had apraxia of speech. Shortly after, he started ABA and we saw great progress, and thought we might as well get the ASD diagnosis. We saw another neurologist who agreed with us. So if you want a doctor who will tell you what you want to hear, see Dr Stein. read more

I hope I never have the displeasure of needing to take my child to see Dr. Stein (she is an epilepsy specialist). I happened upon her office because I had an appointment with another specialist who used to be in that office suite, but somehow on my referral they listed the old address for the previous tenant. The office manager albeit unhelpful himself, was at least friendly. Dr. Stein was out in the waiting area when I came in and she was smarmy, condescending and dismissive when I asked where the other doctor's new location was. She really should try to imagine the frustration of a new patient going to the completely wrong office building and have a lot more care and concern, especially since, if I am ever in need of a Pediatric Epilepsy specialist, I WILL NOT be going to her. read more

I am pleased to say that all the reviews that were negative about Dr.stine and staff were wrong.her and the staff very caring and dedicated very knowledgeable. My son had A couple incidents where the paramedics had to appear Dr.stine was there over the phone to assist and help I don't think I've ever had a physician that would do that makes me feel that my son is in very good hands. I had ER doctor and paramedics had told me she is a keeper as I know she is very dedicated to her patients. My son has only seen her 3 time and will continue to his visit with dr.stine read more

We tried Dr. Stein because our previous neurologist was taking a position at Keck Medicine of USC's dept of child neurology and was giving up her private practice. It turned out to be a mistake of tremendous proportions, but when you are parents of a special needs child, you often end up trying to give doctors the benefit of the doubt until things go completely wrong. We'd have to agree with the other "one star" reviews on Dr. Stein on many fronts. She doesn't take insurance, so be prepared to pay out of pocket each time. She is also very quirky in that her mannerisms are somewhat neurotic and almost ADD-like (attention deficit disorder); her conversations with us were often very fragmented and one-sided, which I attribute to her ego. She was very dismissive and condescending regarding our opinions and questions, and as others have stated, when she finds out you are seeking advice elsewhere, she (and her officemate Brad, who supposedly runs the EEG side of the business) becomes very hostile and defensive. She also initially sent a message saying she wasn't going to be our son's doctor after rescheduling two appointments which we fully advised them of the reasons for, but then she recanted after we explained the reasons again. We then wanted to reschedule another appt, and there seemed to be no problem from their end. It was right after that where she pulled a stunt which I won't go into, and we quickly knew we had to find another pediatric neurologist. Some people praise her "thinking out of the box", but I attribute that to her trying to make herself look knowledgeable to patients. When we told other neurologists and epileptologists of the various and different therapies she was recommending we try, they looked at us with complete and total incredulity. We could list a dozen other different situations and issues that had us wondering why we were even putting up with her, but suffice it to say that if you're looking for a pediatric neurologist or autism specialist, we (my wife and I) highly recommend that you look elsewhere if you don't want to find yourself suddenly embroiled in problems that have no reason to occur. read more

Dr Stein and her staff are amazing!! Have complete confidence in her and her treatment plan for our grandson!! Love them all!!

The negative reviews.....definitely NOT the Dr. Stein we know; she is very kind, caring, and compassionate. Our experience with other neurologists has been that they simply increase dosage of meds, change meds, or add meds in an attempt to gain seizure control. Dr. Stein, on the other hand, is always thinking outside the box to not only improve the seizure profile but also the overall quality of life. She leaves no stone unturned and her innovative approach keeps hope alive when it is failing. Her staff (Lani and Liz) are the best......also kind and caring and very professional. read more

Great experience with Dr Stein and team. Really appreciate all the attention to details and care from this office.

I too am very surprised by these low reviews. I'm a nurse and our son has several medical needs so we have seen/met/known a lot of doctors in our day and Dr Stein is up at the top of our list. She is fun, she cares about the kids, she listens to the parents, she has empathy and does her best to explain things. She has been so patient with us in finding the right medication combination for our son. We think very highly of her! read more

This neurologist is awful. She was in Dayton Ohio and we waited for hours for her to get to hospital for my neice. The Dayton children's let her go because of her treatment of my niece and her family. My niece passed away. She was insensitive and rude. read more

ADr. Stein is an amazing clinician. After 20 years of searching (by four major So Cal pediatric epilepsy teams), Dr. Stein, after a careful review of my daughter's medical history, correctly diagnosed my daughter with a rare epilepsy syndrome (which was subsequently verified by genetic testing). Having an accurate diagnoses after twenty years was powerful knowledge, which has enabled us to prepare a much safer treatment plan for seizure control and quality of life. We feel blessed to have found her. http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Diane_Stein/reviews#ixzz3ozX7b4z5 read more

These people are seriously lacking in office etiquette. Dr. Stein, who is more than a little quirky, asked me to get a second opinion on my daughter's condition and then seemed offended after I did so. What? The other doctor (Lin) disagreed with Dr. Stein on whether McKenna could take a liquid form of a pill that she had found extremely hard to swallow, so then Dr. Stein told me she was "happy I found another doctor". I didn't even plan to make a change at that time. She then fired my kid as a patient in a registered letter a week or so later for no reason, except, presumably, she doesn't like her opinion being questioned. Sheesh, I thought she asked me to get a second opinion. Another time, Brad, the office manager, had failed to preauthorize my kid's insurance for a really expensive procedure, and then only offered to comp 50% of it due to their error. Really? So, then I sent them a credit card authorization for this amount, and later they sent me to collections for the entire amount, even though they had discounted the bill 50% due to their mistake. Now I am dealing with a collection agency for a bill I should never have received in the first place because I assumed it was covered, since I had met my deductible and usually an office would preauthorize an expensive procedure. Lesson learned! Do yourself a favor and find a neurologist who is a little easier to work with. Dr. Lin and Dr. Taraman, associated with Choc Hospital, are both phenomenal and pleasant to deal with. read more

Dr Stein helped diagnose our child who we thought had A.D.D. She found out thru testing it was actually a mineral deficiency. This helped with her school. She is very thorough, thoughtful, and understanding. Any negative comments about Dr Stein on here were people most likely not wanting to hear what's actually going on. Give me a break. If you know more than a child neuroligist than you don't need to come here. read more

Wow, I'm not only surprised but I'm disgusted at some of these comments. As a parent of a special needs child I am always asking strangers and others to not pass judgment and to be kind, patient and caring with my child and except his challenges. This is not what's happening on this site. For a community of people with special needs kids who I'm sure are asking the same of everyone all the negative reviews seem very quick to judge Dr Stein. I've never been in the presence of a brilliant Doctor Who isn't a little "quirky". We've been to many doctors and she is by far one of the most knowledgeable. She's also is one of the most caring, friendly, and compassionate people I've ever met. Her office staff from the receptionist to the nurse have been nothing but wonderful to my family. She answers all questions via my chart in a timely manner with no extra charge. I don't know many doctors that are virtually on call 24 hours a day. Over the past three years she has never given up on my child, even when I was getting close. She talked me through it and helped me come out the other side. She is a welcomed addition to our recovery team and I am forever grateful for her determination to help our family recover our child. It's too bad that some of these reviews couldn't have been more understanding. We love Dr. Stein and Staff! read more

I find it hard to believe the one star reviews. Sounds like some details are missing from those stories. Dr. Diane Stein has been a life saver for my daughter for 5 1/2 years. She is funny, inquisitive, smart and spends a lot of time listening to her patients and their parents. After our daughter had several sudden seizures, we were told to take her to a pediatric neurologist. Getting an appointment quickly with those kind of doctors is extremely difficult but she squeezed us in immediately as we were going on vacation within the week and were unsure if we should still go. She reassured us, gave us good instructions for emergency care and told us what to do if she did have a seizure after flying. We were able to contact her from overseas and she had us start anti-seizure meds right away after she had another seizure. Our daughter has been seizure free since that one scary summer 5 1/2 years ago and continues to see Dr. Stein twice a year. We love her and can't imagine her not treating our daughter. Brad and the entire office staff are great, too! read more