The teenage years bring a lot of change—physically, emotionally and socially. Pediatric care changes too.
At Sylacauga Pediatrics and Summit Pediatrics, adolescent care is designed to support teens as they become more involved in understanding and managing their own health while families continue to have an important role in their care.
From routine teen wellness visits and adolescent physicals to chronic-condition follow-up, school and sports needs, and conversations about emotional well-being, our pediatric team is here to support your teen through the transition toward adulthood.
Support Through Adolescence
Physical, emotional and ongoing health needs in one familiar place.
Adolescents are becoming more independent, making more of their own choices and learning how to take responsibility for their health. Pediatric visits during these years still include parents and families, but teens can gradually become more involved in conversations about their health history, medications, symptoms, lifestyle and questions.
Preventive pediatric guidance extends throughout adolescence. The AAP’s Bright Futures framework covers preventive care through age 21 and emphasizes continuity of care as children progress toward adulthood.
Our goal is to provide a familiar medical home where teens can ask questions, families can raise concerns and your pediatric team can continue following health and development over time.
Teens can begin learning how to describe symptoms, ask questions and understand their own health history.
Regular visits continue to focus on prevention, screening and overall wellness.
Parents and caregivers remain an important part of helping adolescents develop healthy habits and navigate healthcare.
Over time, pediatric care can help teens become more confident managing their own health.
Regular preventive visits continue to matter during adolescence. Bright Futures provides age-based recommendations for health supervision, assessments and screenings throughout the teen years. The exact visit is individualized based on age, health history and identified concerns.
Your provider can follow growth, physical development and other age-appropriate health measures over time.
Adolescent visits provide an opportunity to review vaccine history and discuss current age-appropriate recommendations.
Mental and behavioral health are important parts of adolescent health and may be discussed or screened for when appropriate.
School performance, sports, activities and other parts of daily life may provide useful insight into overall health.
Visits can create space to discuss sleep, nutrition, physical activity and other habits that affect teen health.
Teens and parents both have an opportunity to raise new symptoms, health concerns or questions.
One of the important changes during adolescence is learning how to participate in healthcare rather than having every conversation handled entirely by a parent.
That can start with small things: knowing the names of medications, understanding a health condition, answering questions about symptoms, learning how to ask the provider questions and eventually knowing when and how to seek care.
The transition from pediatric to adult healthcare is intended to be a gradual process rather than an abrupt handoff. AAP guidance emphasizes helping adolescents build the skills they will need to manage their healthcare as adults
Teen years often come with new forms, sports requirements and physical examinations. If your teen needs a school or youth sports physical, bring the forms provided by the school or athletic organization and any relevant health information.
Jobs, camps, extracurricular activities and other programs may have their own health or documentation requirements. Bring any forms or instructions you were given so your pediatric office can determine what information or evaluation is needed.
Older adolescents may need physicals, immunization documentation, medication planning or other health records as they prepare for college. This is also a good time for teens to begin understanding how to manage prescriptions, recognize their own medical history and know how to access healthcare when away from home.
For teens living with asthma, ADHD, allergies or other ongoing health conditions, adolescence adds another important goal: helping the teen understand and participate in managing the condition.
Follow-up visits can provide an opportunity to review symptoms, medications, treatment plans and how a condition is affecting school, sports, sleep or everyday activities.
As teens become more independent, they can gradually learn:
Understanding the name and basics of their health condition.
Knowing medications, devices or treatments they use.
Learning which symptoms or changes should be discussed with their healthcare provider.
Building confidence communicating with healthcare professionals.
Adolescence can bring changes in mood, stress, relationships, responsibilities, school pressures and sleep.
Emotional and behavioral health are part of overall adolescent health—not something completely separate from pediatric care. Regular preventive visits give teens and families opportunities to discuss concerns and allow clinicians to consider recommended behavioral and mental-health screening based on age and individual circumstances.
Parents should feel comfortable bringing up changes they have noticed, and teens should know that health questions do not have to be limited to physical symptoms.
You do not need to know exactly what is causing a concern before discussing it with your pediatrician.
As children become adolescents, visits often include more direct conversation with the teen as the patient. Our team encourages age-appropriate communication with adolescent patients while keeping parents involved in their child’s care.
Privacy and confidentiality are handled according to applicable law and practice policy. Your provider can explain what to expect during your teen’s visit, including when part of the conversation may occur directly with the adolescent and the limits of confidentiality.
These conversations help teens practice describing symptoms, asking questions and taking a more active role in their own health as they move toward adulthood.
Eventually, every adolescent will move from pediatric care toward an adult model of healthcare. That change should not have to happen overnight.
Health-care transition is the process of helping adolescents gradually build the knowledge and skills they need to manage their healthcare and eventually establish care with appropriate adult providers. AAP guidance emphasizes deliberate preparation rather than allowing patients simply to “age out” without a plan.
As your teen gets older, helpful skills can include:
Being able to explain important diagnoses, allergies, surgeries and past medical issues.
Understanding which medications they take and why.
Becoming comfortable communicating directly with healthcare providers.
Learning about appointments, prescriptions, insurance information and how to seek care.
Teen visits become even more useful when families arrive with the health information and questions they want to discuss.
If your teen is beginning to take a more active role in their healthcare, encourage them to think of a few questions of their own before the visit.
Encourage your teen to know the names of their medications, allergies and important medical conditions when they are developmentally ready.
Yes. Preventive pediatric care continues throughout adolescence. The AAP Bright Futures framework includes recommended preventive health supervision, assessments and screenings through age 21.
The exact visit depends on the teen’s age, history and individual needs. Preventive adolescent care may include a health history, physical examination, immunization review, recommended screenings and conversations about physical, emotional and behavioral health.
They can overlap, but the purposes are different. A wellness visit is comprehensive preventive healthcare, while a sports physical focuses specifically on health issues relevant to athletic participation.
Adolescent visits often include opportunities for the teen to communicate directly with the healthcare provider. How private portions of visits are handled depends on applicable law and the practice’s policy, which your pediatric team can explain.
Confidentiality for adolescents has limits and depends on applicable law, the type of care involved, safety considerations and practice policy. Your pediatric provider can explain what information may remain private and when information may need to be shared.
Yes. Mental and behavioral health are part of adolescent healthcare, and regular preventive visits are opportunities to raise concerns and consider appropriate screening or follow-up.
Ongoing pediatric care can include follow-up for conditions such as asthma and ADHD. Your child’s provider can explain the care plan and whether additional specialty support is appropriate.
Transition should be planned rather than based on one universal birthday. Pediatric practices may have their own age policies, and transition timing can depend on the individual patient and healthcare needs. AAP guidance recommends preparing adolescents for this transition before the actual transfer occurs.
Adolescence is a good time to begin learning:
From preventive visits and physicals to chronic conditions and new health concerns, our pediatric team is here to support your teen through the years of change ahead.
With offices in Sylacauga, Chelsea, and Birmingham’s Valleydale area, families can choose the pediatric office most convenient for them. Select a location below to call, get directions, or view complete office information.
115 West Clay Street
Sylacauga, Alabama 35150
134 Foothills Parkway
Chelsea, Alabama 35043
1200 Providence Park, Suite 100
Birmingham, Alabama 35242
Providing compassionate comprehensive pediatric care for infants, children, and adolescents at three convenient locations in Alabama.
115 West Clay Street
Sylacauaga, Alabama 35150
Mon, Tue, Thu: 8:00AM – 5:00pm
Wed: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Fri: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Mon – Fri: 8:00am – 5:00pm
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