But think about how it would feel to be a thirty year old in a waiting room full of children. Furthermore, long-term health care providers for individuals with disabilites may eventually retire and the individual would require new service providers anyway. There is no better time to begin this transition than during adolescence. In 1989 Surgeon General C. Everett Koop held a conference to address transition and health care needs. At the time, there were no standards and many barriers.
Pediatricians are often ambivalent about transferring the care of their long-standing patients.
They are often worried about the care the patient might receive from someone who is not as familiar with their needs and are merely worried about abandoning their patients. Many adult providers are unfamiliar with chronic conditions that begin in childhood because they have never before been asked to care for these individuals. Further, we still do not have a full understanding of how best to serve young adults in the adult health care system. There exists insufficient experience to know best how to meet the varying needs of individuals as they grow older. No empirical data exists to help design and develop programs and services.