We have been long time patients of Dr. Shlafer for over 16 years, have a new found appreciation for him every time we talk with family friends about their experiences. The personal service, dedication, and persistence we get from Dr. Shlafer is unparalleled, and far above the norm. This is why we recommend him to anyone that will listen. With four kids, we have seen our share of medical issues and emergencies. Dr. Shlafer is humble, yet confident, and he is always laser focused on the best interest of his patient. He won't always tell you what you want to hear, but instead he will provide you with a balanced, researched, and heart felt medical opinion. He will be your best advocate in your biggest times of need. He has amassed a wealth of knowledge and first hand experiences throughout his career, yet he is always willing to admit if something is outside of his scope. Dr. Shlafer maintains a strong network of the best doctors in the Northwest, and will never leave a patient hanging when in need. If he can't help, he will get you to the front of the line with someone who can. Personally, we look to Dr. Shlafer as a friend and an extension of our family. Our children look forward to visiting Dr. Shlafer, and love his great sense of humor. After over 16 years we still hear new jokes every time we visit, and no one can get a smile out of a sick kid like he can. Sincerely, Catherine and Jesse Thompson (and the whole family!) read more

If your child has ASD, do not bring them here. Not only have I noticed weird looks while waiting in the lobby by some of the nurses.. but yesterday I took my daughter in to check on something, and it required a urine sample. My daughter is 5 and not fully potty trained, some basic research would tell you that this is very typical behavior in children with ASD, especially of her level. I say this because: Looks I can ignore, but one of the nurses had the audacity to walk into the room and say "A little old mom".. those exact words. With FULL confidence and little attitude. I immediately was shocked and when they came back to the room, I (as politely as I could) said I was going to take my daughter somewhere else and that it is extremely unprofessional (and rude!) to say something like that. She then tried to say "I'm sorry you feel that way" to which I said "no, you took a direct jab at me and that's not right. Especially as a nurse." I explained that my daughter is learning at her pace, her father and I ask/offer every single day (with much praise) to have her use the toilet, but we aren't going to force her.. that's more psychologically damaging than what we are currently doing. She did try to come and apologize as I was complaining to the front office, but the damage was done. I did my best to not raise my voice and even ended on a "I hope you have a good day" to everyone, like I did every single time I came in before that.. It was a younger pregnant lady, but she is well old enough to know better. So take that as you will, I HIGHLY do NOT recommend this pediatricians office to anyone, especially children on the spectrum. Thank you for reading. read more

We switched to Dr. Shlafer's office from Allegro due to the continued push of an Autism diagnosis for my 9mo old. Dr. Shlafer approaches his care to his patients with the understanding that all are unique and will meet certain milestones at different times (within a certain bell curve). I appreciate that he sees my child as an individual. He has a way of putting me at ease, I feel like I can breathe and am doing my best to support my child's health. Great pediatrician and wonderful staff. read more

I brought our three kids as new patients and Dr. Shlafer was wonderful with all of them! Caring, experienced, compassionate and very patient. One of the best medical office experiences I have had! read more

So we took our kids to ER couple times after business due to kids sickness only to receive a letter from his office stating that he no longer be the Primary Doctor since it seems that we prefer ER over his services and will transfer there records to somewhere else of they choosing, in other words they refuse to see my kids when I needed them just because we took our very sick kids to ER. Poorly service and unprofessional Doctor, I work in the Doctor office so I know what is he doing is not right. read more

My daughter came in with a diaper rash. The doctor decided to do a urine test. The test came back just a little positive then he asked to do two more urine test the other two came back negative he then suggested us to take her to a urologist. I asked why if two came out negative and the first barely positive. I said I'd prefer not to and he decided to have his receptionist call me to tell us that if we didn't follow his instructions he would remove my daughter from his care, so he did. I'm actually not numbed at all after he had previously told me all baby formulas are all the same and I could switch my 5month old from different formulas when even I wanted... That's not true! He's not a bad doctor and I liked him at first for how blunt he was and for not pushing us to give my daughter the flu vaccine. read more

I been going to Dr. Shlafer since 2017. He's a great doctor but unfortunately won't be going there anymore because they won't allow us to since I had 2 no shows. I never had that happen, I was always on time and always called if I needed to cancel or reschedule. We're in the middle of a pandemic and I had a rough postpartum. I tried explaining what was going an they had no sympathy. I doubt they even asked the doctor if they can give me another chance to come in either. Please don't go there because they have no sympathy at all! read more

I have three children that have been patients of Dr. Shlafer since birth. We have been going to his practice for 20 years. I appreciate his honesty and straight forward approach. In the 20 years that we have been going there, I have never experienced a time when they didn't find time to see us when something came up medically. In fact, we got in the same day we called every single time. My kids loved going to his office and appreciated his quirky sense of humor. As a parent I appreciate that he has always spoken directly to my children and has provided us with great care. When he didn't have an answer, he made sure we saw someone that would provide us with the answer and best care. My youngest is 16, so in a few years we will be moving on to a new doctor but until then we will continue our care with Dr. Shlafer and I highly recommend him to you if you like a doctor that is smart, straight forward and works hard to provide great care for his patients. read more

I have a 6 month old son, and I have found Dr. Shlafer to be really efficient and certain and does not raise alarm when there isn't anything to be alarmed about. I appreciate him being blunt and reassuring. read more

I do not recommend this physician. This review is based on Dr Shlafer authorizing a child, 4, to attend childcare with diagnosis of Influenza B. As the director of a licensed facility we sent a child home due to several alarming conditions. This Dr. diagnosed influenza B and wrote a note stating the child is not contagious and okay to attend childcare. According to CDC, influenza B is contagious. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics it is contagious. Child has a fever. read more

Two Stars are for his staff/nurses. We love our previous pediatric office but my husband was laid off end of last year so we can only afford Ambetter insurance which means we have to look for new doctor. My husband found this office off Ambetter website. And our appointment was at 10:00 a.m. for my son's 6-months checkup and same time in the waiting room, there were 4 more kids waiting. We saw the doctor for 10 minutes the most. As soon as he introduced himself, he said he does not care about the baby's milestones and if has dry skin, just use some cream. I mean as a first-time patient, I really did not like way he talks, so fast can't even understand him and when we wanted to ask him something, he's already out the door. read more

Lobby is crowded and not clean. Doc no longer accepted our insurance but never bothered to send us a letter or notify us when we scheduled the appointment (kids have been going there for 8 yrs). The doctor and receptionist offered no apology. Apparently taking time off work and taking my son out of school for an appointment that he NEEDED to participate in sports, was of no concern to them. Very disappointing. read more

All 5 stars are for Dr. Schlafer alone. He is a really cool funny guy. I brought my two teenage boys here today and he was very efficient while all the while making us laugh. He's crazy in a good way! The office staff is nice enough. This was only my second visit so I don't have enough experience to rate them. Dr. Schlafer was recommended to me by someone whose opinion I very much respect. We will definitely stick with him until we are forced to see another dr for a reason out of our control. read more

Dr. Shlafer has been our pediatrician since the birth of my daughters who are now 20 and 17. The youngest was born 6 weeks premature and doctor came by to see her in the hospital every day on his way home. His dedication and compassion for his patients goes above and beyond other experiences you may have had with other doctors. I have also received excellent service and care from the staff at North Sound. I am writing this tonight from Texas. We are here visiting colleges and had a medical emergency. Guess who was available to help us? It doesn't matter what the problem, Dr. Shlafer always knows what to do. As a busy working mom, I have put my complete trust in this doctor for the past 20 years and he comes with my highest recommendation. read more

Dr. Schlafer was both of my childrens pediatrician! I really liked his directness, humour and commentment to his patients. My children adored him and was sad when they got to be too old for a pediatrician! I have been a nurse for 25 years and I know a good Dr. when I see one and Dr. Schlafer is one of the best!!! read more

We recently moved to the area from California and were in need of a new pediatrician. My first visit was okay, but my disappoint came with the second appointment (12 month visit for my daughter). Sorry this is going to be a long review. We checked in and the lady at reception was nice, friendly and happy to help. That's where my satisfaction ended. My daughter was playing with the toys and a medical assistant/nurse (we'll call her #1) came out and called her name. I tried to quickly put away the toy my daughter was playing with, but the lady just looked annoyed. I apologized and got no response. She didn't say hi or even acknowledge us. She just turned around and walked down the hallway stopping at a regular scale and told me to put my baby on it. She was fully clothed with a diaper. I'm pretty sure that was not an accurate weight. Then the lady told me to go to the room down the hall. I misunderstood which room she pointed at and she seemed quite annoyed with me. Once in the room, she measured my daughter, asked if I had any concerns and then left. After about five minutes Dr. Schlafer walked in talking to me. Because he started before he was in the room, I missed half of what he said to me. He spoke about a million miles a minute and never said hi to me or my daughter. One of the concerns I had was that my daughter has been getting sick every 2-3 weeks. All he said was that she needed a nebulizer so she could breathe. He never addressed what could be making her sick. He listened to her lungs and heart and then left the room as quickly as he had come in. He was in the room for maybe 3 minutes. I still had a long list of questions/concerns and didn't even get to mention anything. Soon #1 came in and shoved laminated papers in my face that I finally figured out that I was supposed to read right there and then consent to the vaccines that my daughter needed. It was a little odd. I consented and she left. Nurse #2 came in and gave the vaccines. I asked her if there was going to be a reaction or pain associated with them so I would know whether or not to give some Tylenol. She looked at me, confused and then said she wasn't sure and would find out for me. Before she left, I asked if I could get an updated immunization record and she said she would bring it back to me. A few minutes later Nurse #3 came in to show me how to use the nebulizer. She was friendly and personable and took the time to answer questions. I asked how much the nebulizer would cost and she told me not to worry about it because my insurance should cover it. I told her that I hadn't reached my rather large deductible yet and was informed that it shouldn't be more than $70. I checked my EOB today and I am going to be charged $130 for it. I went out to the front to make an appointment for the next visit and waited for #2 to come back with answers. She wanders out after a while and tells me that she isn't sure if there was going to be a reaction,but handed me the same laminated paper from before that tells about the vaccine so I could figure it out myself. She also said their printer was down, but they would print out the updated immunization form and call me when it was ready. I asked if she could just mail it to me so I didn't have to make a trip back to the office. Her response was, "Ummm, welll we could fax it to you. Otherwise you'll have to come back to pick it up." Well I don't have a fax machine, but I don't understand why they couldn't just throw it into the mail. So that ends my very long tale. Needless to say, we will not be back to North Sound Pediatrics. I want my children treated by a practice that cares about them more than the money they are going to make. read more

I can't say enough positive things about Dr. Stephen Shlafer. He has been my pediatrician for 3 childrens since approx 1999. My family is lucky to have a doctor whom has our best interest and will always treat my children the way he would want his own children to be treated. He is humble, intelligent, honest, and has become someone we call a friend and can count on. This is the type of doctor we all should have! In addition, his staff is just as great. There is always a smile in the air! I wish I personally could find this type of physician for myself, and my 19 year old daughter. Thank you Dr. Shlafer for showing my three daughters what to expect from their doctor. They feel comfortable to speak to you, and feel you respect their words even though they are children! read more

Went here for all the great reviews, big mistake. This doctor is very much out of touch and it felt like taking my children to see my grandpa. When I expressed concerns about my daughter's behavior and looking for some help he gave me a look like I was stupid and blew the whole thing off. She also failed a hearing test and the way he tested her hearing was singing some song while sitting by the ear, real scientific. I would only take your child here if you have zero actual concerns about them. Otherwise I doubt you'll get any real medical advice. read more

My kids have been seeing Dr. Shlafer since birth (they are now 14 & 11). We LOVE him! He has always been a calm, dedicated doctor. He's at the forefront of what's new in pediatric healthcare. He's never hesitated to send us to a specialist when needed. My kids have never been afraid to "go to the doctor". I have recommended him over and over again. read more

Dr. Shlafer is pretty cool. He has been the doctor to my kids for a few years as we have not had an issue with him. He knows my kids by name and spends a good time with us in the room. The office is run a little different than other pediatric offices but I kind of like that in a way. It is more laid back than what I'm used to. The front desk is always kind. If you need to get in you will get in and usually same day! I really appreciate that. If you have a concern dr. Shlafer does listen and is not intimidating. Also, you will always have a chance to see the actual doctor, where in other offices I would see a different person many times and usually a nurse. So, why not a five star? Sometimes, the nursing staff is not the most friendly and seem very serious. It would drive me crazy that they didn't address my kids, not even a hello. So, why a five star? When I decided to talk to dr. Shlafer about it, he welcomed the feedback and I felt heard! I do think he will make these changes so that each visit is a five star for me and my family. Thank you! read more

Dr. Shlafer is an AMAZING doctor. He genuinely cares for each of his patients. He seeks to find the cause of a health issue rather than use medication to cover the symptoms. His staff and nurses are great too! The waiting area is clean and I've rarely had to wait for any significant amount of time anyway. My kids also LOVE going to the doctors, even when they're sick, it's always been a good experience for them. read more

I'm so glad we moved back to the area & my 2 1/2 year old has Dr Schlafer again as her Dr. Amazing Dr & amazing staffs. It's always such an awesome experience coming to this office. read more

Dr. Shlafer has my full trust. He has been our pediatrician since my children were born (they are now 14 and 4). He has given them the BEST care. He is gentle and caring. My kids love him and when they are sick they ask to go see him. I highly recommend Dr. Shlafer. read more

Dr. Schlafer is an amazing physician. As an RN with years of critical care experience, I can honestly say that Dr. Schlafer is one of the most intelligent and experienced doctors I have ever met (and I have worked with hundreds). He is compassionate and takes the time to get to know his patients. He can always back up why he does something and is truly driven by doing what is best for his patients. His years of experience and passion for taking care of patients AND families are unique attributes that are hard to find. His office is welcoming and his staff is wonderful. Would highly recommend. read more

Too bad there hasn't been a review here on YELP of North Sound Pediatrics and Dr.Shlafer before" gabrielle". I suggest you google North Sound Pediatrics and read the outstanding reviews this doctor has all over the place. Dr.Shlafer is awesome. I wouldn't want my 5 kids anywhere else! read more

Dr. Schlafer came highly recommend to me and I had no problems with him and only minor problems with his office until I brought my daughter in respiratory distress in. She collapsed in the waiting room and I was unable yo get her up as I also had her infant brother in a baby carrier on me and she was totally unresponsive. It was really scary as a mom to have that happen and not one single staff member helped me carry her (eventually another mom did). None of the staff even asked if she was alright. She ended up with tons of breathing treatments at the children's er due to scary low o2 stats. Furthermore, when I finally did see dr Schlafer after a very long wait for such a sick kid he suggested I go down the street with my two babies who weren't walking and no stroller to get a chest xray as he didn't have the machine and then come back with my two non walkers and no stroller. That's when I decided the care was insufficient and left for children's where the care was excellent! Don't waste your time here read more

so basically i HATE this place....when i first arrived here it was on recomendation and it was an alright visit. then my second visit was ok because my son was sick and he prescribed something that was not medication (nebulizer). but i just called tonight because my son had a fever that wouldnt go down with tylenol and when i recieved a call back he was very rude and unprofessional. when i answered i told him that my son was behind on shots because he was sick on the last few rounds and he told me "no he wasnt sick you just didnt bring him in" i wasnt sure what to say so he spoke up yet again "so anyway whats your problem tonight" was how he asked me what was wrong with my son!!! i will NEVER be going back to this doctors office!!! read more