Guest Writer: Crystal Wong, MD (UW Family Medicine)
A good primary care doctor is worth their weight in gold. When you’ve invested years of visits and developed a trusting relationship with your Pediatrician it can be difficult to give that up. However, eventually everyone becomes an adult. With adulthood comes an entirely different mix of medical concerns, healthcare maintenance regimens and therapies. Additionally the adult healthcare system is entirely different to navigate. Just as a dermatologist could not be expected to know how to perform brain surgery; a Pediatrician cannot be expected to perform all aspects of adult primary care. Everyone deserves an excellent primary care doctor to perform regular health care exams, keep track of ever changing health screening recommendations, be available to evaluate acute medical concerns, and help navigate our complex medical system.
The late teenage years are a good time to think about transitioning to an adult primary care doctor. It’s also often the time teenagers start feeling a bit awkward about seeing a Pediatrician (think toy-filled waiting rooms targeted at children). Adult primary care doctors can be Family Practitioners, Internal Medicine doctors, or some OB/GYNs.
A good start would be to first discuss this transition with your current doctor. Some Pediatricians feel more comfortable than others about taking care of older teens and young adults. Additionally, you might discover that your primary care doctor is a Family Practitioner who can continue care throughout adulthood. If you and your Pediatrician decide on a transition, ask them if they have any recommendations for local adult doctors that would be a good fit. Often, doctors know of colleagues that are especially adept at working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders or special needs. Adult family members may also have a primary care doctor they can recommend. Additionally you may have friends, or know of other parents with a child on the spectrum, who have a suggestion. If this leads to a dead end, you can also contact us at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center to help you troubleshoot this aspect of adult transition.
This is EXACTLY what I need help with. How do you find a good doctor in the seattle area that can handle an autistic adult patient? Who can you contact to get good referrals?
Hi Blue,
Great question! The best place to start is with your current pediatrician. In addition it could be helpful to post the question on a parent listserv. (Listservs are email groups where members drive the content by sending one email that reaches all people in the “group”, some are moderated and some are not).
Listservs that may be helpful:
FEAT’s (Families for Effective Autism Treatment, featwa.org),
Autism King (a Yahoo support group hosted by the Arc of King County) to join, email [email protected],
Autism Lifespan Project (a Yahoo group, many parents on this listserv have children with Aspergers) to join, email [email protected]
Honestly, there are not a lot of providers who market themselves as serving the adult autism community. This is why we recommend asking other parents who they recommend based on the individual’s needs, severity, location, etc.
Good luck and please let us know if you have any luck.
Thank you for reply. Do not have a pediatrician to ask. Not a parent. I am autistic young adult asking for myself. Will try email lists. Thank you.
I am also an autistic adult in need of an informed primary care physician. Even working with various UW clinics I am shocked and disappointed with the paucity of options.