Pediatric Life Care Plan/Treating Children

Dr. Neal Alpiner, MD is a triple board-certified physician in Pediatrics, Physical Medicine  and Rehabilitation, and Life Care Planning, with nationally recognized expertise in complex  neurologic injury, life expectancy analysis, and long-term functional prognosis across the  lifespan. His clinical and academic work integrates neurorehabilitation principles with  biologically informed assessment of cellular health, neuroinflammation, and recovery  potential following neurologic disease or injury. 

Dr. Alpiner’s practice focuses on medically complex pediatric and adult populations,  including individuals with acquired brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular  disease, developmental neurologic disorders, and chronic medical fragility. He is particularly  interested in disorders of arousal, cognition, endurance, and motor recovery, and in how  mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, sarcopenia, and chronic neuroimmune  activation influence functional trajectories, rehabilitation potential, and life expectancy. His  work emphasizes individualized, pathology-driven analysis rather than reliance on  population-based assumptions. 

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Alpiner is the President and Co-Founder of the  American Association of Pediatric Life Care Professionals, an organization dedicated to  advancing standards, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration in pediatric life care  planning. Through this role, he has contributed to the development of pediatric-specific  frameworks for life expectancy analysis, future care needs, and functional forecasting in  children with complex congenital, neurologic, and catastrophic injuries. 

Dr. Alpiner has held leadership roles in designing physician-driven neurorehabilitation and  life care planning models that integrate high-fidelity neurologic examination, impairment based functional analysis, and longitudinal medical decision-making. He is actively involved  in educating physicians and allied professionals on rigorous documentation, biologic  plausibility, and defensible methodology in life care planning, particularly in cases involving  neurologic injury and lifelong care needs. 

Dr. Alpiner is the author of three books, including his most recent work, Unleashed  Intelligence, which explores neuroplasticity, cellular health, and longevity through a systems based neuroscience lens. He is a frequent lecturer for national and regional audiences on  neurorehabilitation, pediatric and adult life care planning, disorders of consciousness, and the  application of cellular and systems biology to long-term prognosis.