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Teens and Transitions
Transitioning through Adolescence
The
process of growing up and becoming independent is sometimes called “transition”.
The term refers to the transition from adolescence to adulthood and is often
used when a child is:
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Learning to be more independent
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Learning to manage his or her own health care
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Changing from pediatric to adult oriented medical care
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Moving from school to college or work and other aspects of adult life
Transition
for a child with special health care needs poses additional challenges for the
child and family.
Beginning
around age 12 years the pediatric health care team at Middleboro Pediatrics will
start to discuss transition topics and goals with you.
An
outline of these topics includes but is not limited to:
Medical
Care: Starting from age 12 years we will offer each patient individual private
consultation with his or her health care provider at each yearly well visit and
as needed for sick visits. We will continue to provide anticipatory guidance on
nutrition, exercise and fitness, and safety and will discuss topics such as
substance abuse, developing healthy relationships and understanding mental
health problems. We will encourage an understanding of healthy living, knowledge
of one’s own health care needs and responsibility for individual health care
through self -advocacy.
Education:
We will encourage each adolescent to plan ahead and develop goals in high school
towards further education and employment and to understand and be involved in
individual educational planning (IEP) if needed.
Employment:
We may discuss work experience, job related skills and routes to employment
Recreation and Community Involvement:
We will discuss identifying school based, community and in home recreational
options and developing strategies to foster friendship and relationships outside
the family.
Independent Living Skills:
We will discuss managing your own hygiene, time, money, independent travel and
use of technology.
Relationships:
We will encourage
open communication with family and healthy age appropriate relationships. We
will discuss sexuality in the context of family, cultural and religious
preferences. We will encourage recognition of emotional problems and screen for
mental health problems in order to seek help when needed.
Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs:
We will focus on
care coordination. Topics may include developing an emergency care summary and a
medical summary identifying need for adaptive equipment and discussing legal
issues such as guardianship.
Transition and Transfer:
We hope you will continue your health care with Middleboro Pediatrics until
you reach age 22 however we encourage you to plan ahead.
We will
discuss specific topics from age 16-18 including:
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Confidentiality and legal rights of adolescents
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Information on Health Care Proxy decisions
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How to find and adult care provider
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Transferring to adult medicine
We hope
this outline will provide a framework to help you understand and participate in
the transition and transfer process and most of all to encourage open
communication with your health care provider.
By
clicking on the links you will be able to access further tip sheets, check lists
and resources, which may be helpful.
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