A new word is catching on to describe the sometimes overwhelming life stage of learning to behave like a grown-up: "adulting." For youth with chronic diseases, adulting has complexities beyond coming to grips with doing their own laundry. They must transition to a new system of adult-centered medical care, which can be daunting.
“How tired do you feel?” a doctor asks a child with a chronic disease. Or, “How well are you managing stress?” The answers to questions like these are even more important, from many patients’ and families’ perspectives, than the particular numerical result of their lab test results.
