Resources and support: healthcare settings
Participants in my research often report struggling in healthcare settings. Here are some resources to help you advocate for yourself in healthcare settings, and some resources that may be helpful for healthcare practitioners who want to support autistic patients.
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AASPIRE Healthcare Toolkit: a bunch of resources for autistic patients and doctors, aimed at improving your experience when you need to access healthcare.
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Know Your Normal toolkit: although pitched at younger autistic people, the Know Your Normal toolkit is a means of helping people become aware of what is normal for them in terms of their physical and mental health. This way, they can more easily tell a doctor when something changes.
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The National Autistic Society have a range of articles about physical health and healthcare access. They've produced this booklet focusing on conversations with your doctor about medication - the title is a bit deceptive, as it contains a lot of other useful information!
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Advice from Mind about talking to your doctor about mental health. Ambitious about Autism also wrote some advice about getting the most out of an appointment with a psychiatrist.
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The National Autistic Society offers an advice and advocacy service for autistic people who have or might be detained in a mental health hospital.
You may also find it helpful to share these resources for professionals with the professionals involved in your care.