Supporting autistic patients with inclusive and predictable care

Caring for autistic patients requires a unique approach, and a Five ways to support… article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250152 aims to provide tips on caring for these patients.

Suggestions include offering online bookings and virtual consultations, adapting health care delivery and environments to reduce sensory overstimulation, tailoring communications for individual patients, ensuring clarity and predictability in health care encounters, and understanding the barriers that some autistic people encounter.

"Autistic people with intersectional (e.g., cultural, gender) identities often experience discrimination in health care settings, which should be mitigated," write authors from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario. "Autistic women and people with other marginalized identities may face invalidating disbelief for their autism diagnoses because their presentations may differ from providers' expectations. This can be mitigated by integrating clinical expertise with lived experience expertise. Providers should understand autism and its diversity, while actively asking whether and how an autistic patient's lived experiences match with existing understanding of autism and their current health care needs."