How can parents help their child with a spinal cord injury make the transition to adulthood?

The transition to adulthood is a big one, and we talk about it all the time in pediatrics and we love to the term "anticipatory guidance." And when we say that, we're talking about helping parents and children prepare for the next stage in life. And if it's that transition into adulthood, we want to start preparing early. It's never too early to start talking to a child about learning their care, learning their independence as much as possible; learning medications, even things like— "how would I make a doctor's appointment ?"—becomes important. We want to take little steps to ensure that children are ready for the transition to adulthood, and to take over their true care from their parents. Importantly, we also want to make sure parents remember to stick around as a safety net. Every 16-year-old isn't ready to take on all of their care and information about their spinal cord injury totally independently. And even if they are, it's important that their parents are there as a safety net, and the child knows that they have someone, a caregiver or a parent, who's available to them at any time they may need them.

Let go, that's the hardest thing for parents, even without spinal cord injuries, is to let go. Let them have experiences on their own, let them make mistakes. It's very difficult because patients, children with spinal cord injuries, especially if you've watched them grow with spinal cord injuries, you tend to be a little bit more involved than you would be if they weren't in a chair. And so, letting go, and letting them make mistakes, can be a safety issue. I think if you treat them with respect, and give them the opportunity to become independent, everything will work out.