Brief Report: Meeting the Needs of Medically Hospitalized Adults with Autism: A Provider and Patient Toolkit

Jocelyn Carter; Sarabeth Broder-Fingert; Ann Neumeyer; Ann Giauque; Ann Kao; Christiana Iyasere

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3040-5

Brief Report: Meeting the Needs of Medically Hospitalized Adults with Autism: A Provider and Patient Toolkit

J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 May;47(5):1510-1529. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3040-5.

Authors

Jocelyn Carter¹, Sarabeth Broder-Fingert², Ann Neumeyer³, Ann Giauque³, Ann Kao⁴, Christiana Iyasere⁵

Affiliations

¹ Clinician Educator, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Bulfinch 015, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. jcarter0@partners.org.
² Pediatric Internist, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, 850 Harrison Ave, 5th Floor, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
³ Administrative Director, Lurie Center for Autism, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, 1 Maguire Road, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA.
⁴ Pediatric/Internal Medicine Clinician Educator, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Suite 504A, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
⁵ Clinician Educator, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Suite 504A, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.

PMID: 28213837
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3040-5

Abstract

In an effort to meet the needs of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while hospitalized, a team of experts and providers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MGH for Children as well as parents of individuals with ASD was sparked in 2013. This became a multidisciplinary collaborative, the MGH Autism Care Collaborative, to improve adult care for inpatients with ASD. The collaborative was created with three goals in mind: (1) to educate internal medicine adult inpatient providers and staff on the unique needs of adults with ASD when hospitalized; (2) to create ASD specific resources for internal medicine adult inpatient providers; (3) to optimize patient care from admission to discharge among adults with ASD admitted to internal medicine services.

Keywords: ASD; Autism; Autism educational tools; Hospitalization; Inpatient.

MeSH terms

Adult
Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology
Autism Spectrum Disorder / therapy*
Health Services Needs and Demand*
Hospitalization*
Humans
Intersectoral Collaboration
Massachusetts
Parents