It’s important for you to learn to speak up for yourself and be able to talk about your own healthcare; this is called being a self-advocate. As you get older you may not want your parents/carers to be part of your consultations. Practicing advocacy skills when you are in young people’s (adolescent) services, helps you to prepare for seeing adult healthcare staff independently.
The knowledge and skills you may develop are:
- Asking your own questions.
- Preparing for independent consultations.
- Requesting independent consultations.
- Understanding confidentiality, capacity, duty of care and disclosure.
- Developing communication and decision-making skills.
- To take control of your own self-care.
- Learning about your rights and responsibilities.
- Develop self-advocacy skills (speaking up for themselves).
Independent consultations/chatting to your Healthcare Team
As you get older you will be encouraged to ask your own questions and begin to see different healthcare team members on their own or at least for part of your visit. This will help you to become more knowledgeable about your condition and involve you in decision making. This is called speaking up for yourself or self-advocacy.
