Healthcare Transitions
Why is health an important aspect of transition?
Keeping one’s mind and body healthy is a big and very important adult responsibility. Transition planning needs to include helping youth know how to care for themselves, both mentally and physically.
Being healthy means something different for every person. Every person has their own priorities.
nutrition
what kind of exercise a person gets
what to do for fun
medical planning and care
family and social relationships
dating relationships
work and workplace dynamics
managing conflict and stress
Let’s look at some resources
Take Charge of Your Health: A Guide for Teenagers
The National Institute of Health answers many health-related questions for teens.
The University of Montana Rural Institute hosts a range of Healthcare Transition (HCT) resources, including this workbook to help in the transition process.
Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health: What Youth Want YOU to Know!
Young adults with developmental disabilities face the same mental health challenges as their peers, but too often their symptoms are ignored, misdiagnosed, or written off as “part of the developmental disability.”
Checklist for Transitioning to Adult Healthcare
This checklist is a helpful way for parents and youth to plan for and talk about the transition from pediatric to adult medical services.
The Center for Transition to Adult Healthcare for Youth with Disabilities
This center is a healthcare transition resource center whose goal is to empower youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) ages 12-26 to direct their own transition from pediatric to adult care with no reduction in quality of care and no gaps in service. Resources are available for youth, parents, and providers.
Developing and Identifying Healthy Relationships
This list of resources provided by The ARC includes information concerning the process of dating/breaking up, identifying abuse, and creating and maintaining healthy relationships.