Transitioning to Adulthood Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Care and Beyond

Transition is an exciting time where youth are oriented around their long-term life goals. From a developmental perspective, youth are experiencing changes in multiple facets of life at a time when nonadherence and risk-taking behaviors are high, which may affect SCI care. Adaptive coping strategies and strong social support from within and outside of the SCI community are therefore needed and can promote the transition process. There are many models of transition interventions in education, health care, and employment; however, they are often not widely adopted or supported by third-party payors. More system-wide attention is needed to integrate these interventions into practice and provide support to youth with SCI to close the gap in transition preparedness.