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PEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 3 March 2004, pp. e159-e162

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

Transition to Adulthood: The Important Role of the Pediatrician

Donna Gore Olsen, BA* and Nancy L. Swigonski, MD, MPH{ddagger}

* The Indiana Parent Information Network, Inc, Indianapolis, Indiana
{ddagger} Children’s Health Services Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana

This article, written by a parent of 2 youths with special health care needs and a pediatrician, builds on the Medical Home framework to give concrete examples of what physicians and families can and should do to prepare families for transition(s). The article consists of 3 parts. The first part is an introduction giving an overview of the importance of transition. "Developing a Life (not Illness) Plan: Begin With the End in Mind," emphasizes that no matter how challenging the disability or compromising the chronic illness, we owe it to our children to take the risk of thinking about the future and beginning to help them to develop a life (not illness) plan. The third part, "With a Little Help from My Friends," looks at how linking families with other parents, young adults, and adults living with disabilities and serious chronic illness can be a source of information to both families and physicians as they plan for the future.

Key Words: transition • children with special health care needs • physician role

Abbreviations: CYSHCN, children and youths with special health care needs • CF, cystic fibrosis

Received for publication Jul 17, 2003; Accepted Oct 23, 2003.