My primary doctor almost always asks…
…why I'm with my mom and I'm not at work when my mom comes to see her. (Yes, my doc pretty much knows my life story). My mom is neurodivergent too (dyslexia, anxiety, seasonal depression and I am pretty sure there might be at least one more but it's hard to tell exactly what). Big doctor words confuse the living heck out of my mom. Now our primary has learned to avoid using big doctor words with patients but she still uses them with her scribe (and I am super nosey and like to know what exactly is going on). Most doctors we run into haven't quite figured out how to not use big doctor words with patients. So I come along to play doctor translator and boy do doctors pick up on this because they start talking more to me and less to her. Personally, I don't like that. They still need to talk to her. I'm just here to interpret what they're saying to her in words she can actually understand. I also come along because we know that anything that affects my mom's health could have a potential genetic factor and I could be at risk for developing it too. That is something I kinda need to know about. Also, with my dad potentially developing dementia and knowing so much about my mom's health, if she were to need a power of attorney to start making her medical decisions for her, she'd likely pick me over my brother. I would prefer a supported decision making setup, and hopefully New York will have such a thing when the time comes that she may need it. I don't like the idea of stripping someone's agency completely away if it can be avoided.