Living with Juvenile Arthritis

11. Moving to “adult care�

Transition is the process of preparing young people for transfer to adult services, it begins around the age of 12 to 14 years and is completed at the age of 16.

This might start with asking the young person one or two simple questions with their parent or guardian present and eventually seeing them for a short while on their own, helping them to understand JIA and their medications.

The transfer process should be gradual and guides the young person in understanding and being in control of their own healthcare.

This means they will attend a different hospital when they are under the care of an adult rheumatologist.

If the young person is supported by an adult rheumatologist from the start, the transfer will be slightly different because they will already be under the care of their adult rheumatologist!