Posted on Feb 12, 2022
Kids with autism struggle to adapt to adulthood. One doctor is trying to change that
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/02/12/ [login to see] /kids-with-autism-struggle-to-adapt-to-adulthood-one-doctor-is-trying-to-change-t
"Alexander Roodman was packing up his room, preparing for a gap year before college, when I met him at his family's Washington, D.C., townhouse.
The room was a typical teenage disaster zone, with clothes and books strewn everywhere.
Then, Alex picked up an origami sculpture that rippled with dozens of ridges and depressions. "It's kind of a repetitive pattern," he said. "First, you make the diagonal folds and these lateral folds to cut the paper in half."
It's pretty complicated. Alex, a slim teenager with long black hair and penetrating eyes, is gifted with the focus for this. But the way his brain works can be a challenge.
Alex is autistic.
And like many parents of children with autism, Alex's mother and father have spent years trying to find a doctor or school or therapist who could help.
"It's a little bit like hot potato. Is the school supposed to counsel me? Is the pediatrician supposed to counsel me? ... Am I supposed to figure that out?" said Dr. Mai Pham, Alex's mother. "I think he always believed we were on his side. But he could also see that we were sometimes helpless.""
"Alexander Roodman was packing up his room, preparing for a gap year before college, when I met him at his family's Washington, D.C., townhouse.
The room was a typical teenage disaster zone, with clothes and books strewn everywhere.
Then, Alex picked up an origami sculpture that rippled with dozens of ridges and depressions. "It's kind of a repetitive pattern," he said. "First, you make the diagonal folds and these lateral folds to cut the paper in half."
It's pretty complicated. Alex, a slim teenager with long black hair and penetrating eyes, is gifted with the focus for this. But the way his brain works can be a challenge.
Alex is autistic.
And like many parents of children with autism, Alex's mother and father have spent years trying to find a doctor or school or therapist who could help.
"It's a little bit like hot potato. Is the school supposed to counsel me? Is the pediatrician supposed to counsel me? ... Am I supposed to figure that out?" said Dr. Mai Pham, Alex's mother. "I think he always believed we were on his side. But he could also see that we were sometimes helpless.""
Kids with autism struggle to adapt to adulthood. One doctor is trying to change that
Posted from npr.orgPosted in these groups: 
Children
Children
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 2
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My youngest is on the spectrum. We are worried about how he'll handle college life. He has done great all the way through his education. Now a sophomore and still handling things well. But he has an very good support network in his family and teachers.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The U.S. has made major strides in recent decades in raising awareness about autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, which affect as many as 1 in 20 Americans.
Improvements in screening, new therapies and burgeoning specialty clinics have made available care that was unthinkable a generation ago. But the health care system is still failing millions of Americans from the time they are children, experts and advocates say."...
..."The U.S. has made major strides in recent decades in raising awareness about autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, which affect as many as 1 in 20 Americans.
Improvements in screening, new therapies and burgeoning specialty clinics have made available care that was unthinkable a generation ago. But the health care system is still failing millions of Americans from the time they are children, experts and advocates say."...
(1)
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