https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/adolescent-hub/growing-up-gaining-independence/

Growing up, gaining independence

Like moving to secondary school, when you turn 12 years old, we recognise that you are growing up, so we want to help support you and your family gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to understand and manage your health condition as you enter adolescence. By giving you the information about your health, we are allowing you to make ‘informed decisions’.

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Independence

As you grow older, you learn new things. You might start to do things on your own, without your parents being there.

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Your health

Your health is one part of life where you might want to do things on your own. We want to help you learn things so you can do this.

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Speaking to your care team

We think it’s good to have some time with your doctor or nurse without your parents in the room with you. You can have someone else with you instead if you want.

Colourful illustration with the words grow and smile

Having capacity

When you are 16 years old, the law lets you make choices. We will help work out if you can make decisions on your own. We call this ‘having capacity’.

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Letters addressed to you

The hospital should also start addressing letters to you instead of your parents.

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Your health information

You can also decide who sees the information hospitals keep about you. You can carry on letting your parents see it, or you can ask us not to share the information. You could decide that someone else like your carer can look at the information.

Black a white drawing of a teddy bear who is a doctor

Learning new things about managing your healthcare

We will help you and your parents learn new things to do on your own. This may include:

- how to ask questions about things that matter to you

- how to manage your medicines

- what to do and who to tell if you are unwell

- how to get ready to see your doctor or nurse

Artwork

The images in this section of the website were kindly created by GOSH patients to represent their teenage years and time spent in hospital.