From Early Childhood to Adulthood: Implementing Neuroaffirming Health Care for Autistic Individuals.

Authors

Kruti Acharya, Sarah C Bauer, Helen Rottier

Published in

Pediatric annals. Volume 55. Issue 7. Pages e246-e251. Epub Jul 01, 2026.

Abstract

In health care, autism is viewed through the medical model. This approach may lead to adverse health care experiences and outcomes for autistic individuals. In contrast, integrating neurodiversity into care can improve the health care experiences and outcomes of autistic individuals. The authors combine scientific literature, the health care perspectives of autistic people, and clinical experiences to highlight the barriers and needs of individuals who are neurodivergent in health care. The authors present tangible neuroaffirming practices for pediatric medicine, from screening and diagnosis to transition to adulthood. Physicians play a crucial role in advancing accessible, neuroaffirming care. Even small changes in practice meaningfully improve health care experiences for autistic individuals from early childhood to adulthood.

PMID:
42406049
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 06 Jul 2026.

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