Finding Healthcare for Adults with Autism

It’s important for adults with autism to regularly receive support from the healthcare community, ensuring that the beneficial services from their childhood continue into adulthood to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They should have a range of providers for the different health services they need, including therapists, physicians and any specialists they may require.

Before making a decision to find a new service provider, it is best to start by gathering information about the various options available. Learn as much as you can, review all the options, and make a decision based on your needs.

If you wish to find or change healthcare providers, below you will find some suggested guidelines of how to do so:

Finding healthcare providers:

• Seek recommendations from other people or organizations that you already know and trust, for example:

  • Friends, family or co-workers: ask them if they have a specific doctor that they like. 

  • Professionals, such as psychologists: ask them for advice.

  • From an autism support group or communities: they might be able to recommend providers that have experience working with people on the spectrum.

  • Hospitals: they could have local physical referral services. Try contacting your local hospital and ask them if they have a physician referral line or someone at their facility who can give physician referrals.

• Find providers covered by your health insurance:

  • All health insurance companies have lists of healthcare providers to choose from. Healthcare providers can also be found on their website, or by calling the company. 

  • People that have public insurance are able to contact their state’s primary care office so they can find some providers.

• If you don’t have health insurance: 

  • It will require some research to be able to find all the available possibilities in your area. Research for free clinics, low-cost clinics or safety net clinics.

• Searching the Internet:

  • You could use: 

    • Licensing Boards and Professional Organizations

    • Google or web mapping services

    • Medline Plus

    • Molina Healthcare

    • Healthcare 

    • Medicaid

    • ZocDoc

• Searching off-line

  • Search using directory listings (ex: yellow pages listing).

  • Calling or talking in person to professional organizations.

  • Looking for clinics around your or other neighborhoods.

Things to know before you contact a healthcare provider:

• If the provider is able to get new patients.

• The provider is able to have self-pay patients and you pay for the service.

• Call ahead and discuss the accommodations that you might need during the visit

• Talk to the office staff so they can help you in providing a good and supportive environment. 

Things to consider when selecting a new provider: 

• Find information online, asking people you trust or call the provider’s office.

• Do they take your insurance?

• Do they have experience with adults on the autism spectrum?

• Are they accessible to you? 

  • Thinking about transportation.

  • If they have a comfortable sensory environment.

  • If you can have an easy and understandable conversation with the provider.

  • If they know how to treat individuals with autism

  • If they have a quiet waiting areas

  • Increased flexibility of appointments

• Schedule a visit to get to know the provider.

• Keep making appointments with the provider and think about how it went and if you felt comfortable.

• In general, you have to think about the fact that if you disclose your autism, that will help the provider better understand you and find an easier way to be able to help and work with you. Also, don’t forget that there are healthcare providers that don’t know that much about autism and need to get more educated. 

• At the end of the day, that’s completely your choice.

Remember that if the healthcare provider doesn’t turn out to be a good fit for you that’s okay, there’s always other providers that can best fit your needs.