Download your Neurodivergent Healthcare Passport

Supporting your self-advocacy and reducing barriers to care

You don’t have to look far to find neurodivergent adults with unhappy stories about their attempts to access adequate healthcare.

In 2023, Mel Houser wrote about how autistic adults have largely given up on healthcare due to not getting their needs met, and the negative impact this has on life expectancy.

For many neurodivergent people, accessing healthcare can be exhausting at best, and frequently traumatising. Not being listened to, not being understood, and even being gaslit. Not having people understand or accept your sensory or communication needs is common.

Hospital passports have been introduced to try to improve the situation, but these are often only for autistics or those with learning disabilities (known as intellectual disabilities in the USA, where learning disabilities has a different meaning). This Neurodivergent Healthcare Passport attempts to broaden this support to more people who could benefit and to support self-advocacy.

It’s designed to cover a wide variety of needs, but is produced in sections so that you only need to print and fill in the pages that are relevant to you. There is an example of a completed passport at the end of the document, as well as prompts to help you create a list of things you want to take if you’re going to be a hospital in-patient.

It may be overwhelming at first look and you might find it helpful to complete it in chunks with someone who can support you. It will then be ready if and when you need it, instead of being an extra thing to worry about at the time of a hospital appointment or admission. You might like to keep a completed copy in your bag in case of an emergency. It’s always ok to change things in the future too if your medical situation evolves or you become more aware of different needs and accommodations.

The pdf format means you can print and write on it, or type over the top using a suitable pdf program.