Healthcare for individuals with autism across the lifespan
When children with autism become adults, they require medical care tailored to their complex behavioral and medical needs. That’s why we are excited to support the work of the Lurie Center for Autism – Massachusetts General Hospital.
What they do:
The Lurie Center is a multidisciplinary program designed to evaluate and treat children, adolescents and adults with a wide variety of conditions including autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders. It is the clinical arm of the Lurie Center for Autism, which also has research, advocacy and training programs.
The Lurie Center clinical model combines evaluation and treatment by physicians, psychologists, and nurse practitioners in collaboration with other professionals involved in the individual’s care, including educational consultants, speech-language pathologists, and physical and occupational therapists. Our unique approach is applied not only to diagnosis but also to identifying the most appropriate interventions and therapies for each patient’s special needs. The multidisciplinary model further offers the opportunity for the care team to more effectively communicate and learn from each other to improve complex clinical care.
The project:
An Autism Care Collaborative to address the health care needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the lifespan. With a focus on people with classic autism, the primary goal of this program is to insure that these individuals, many of whom have complex medical and behavioral profile and are non-verbal, are able to access medical care to promote and maintain health, and are able to receive treatment of acute and chronic conditions.
As a teaching hospital, an additional goal is to elucidate and disseminate best practices for caring for this medically undeserved population.
The Lurie Center
The Lurie Center at Massachusetts General Hospital provides support to families of adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they transition into adulthood.
The Center is committed to guiding families of adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum (ASD) and other developmental disabilities as they transition into adulthood and learn to navigate and access adult services in Massachusetts. Their neurodevelopmental physician identifies needs, provides recommendations and coordination of care, while family support clinicians offer information and guidance about vocational, community, legal and educational resources. The Lurie Center also helps families who seek to obtain guardianship and also helps them access public benefits and related programs. The clinician helps families to organize an action plan along the transition time line (age 14-22 years).
The mission of the Lurie Center is to treat individuals and support their families across the lifespan.
The mission of the Special Hope Foundation is to promote the establishment of comprehensive health care for adults with developmental disabilities designed to address their unique and fundamental needs. We are honored to support the work of the Office of Developmental Primary Care.
Learn more about the Lurie Center at Massachusetts General Hospital