Adolescents may be less skillful than adults in identifying options because they lack sufficient knowledge of alternatives and relevant life experiences to draw from; therefore, adolescents tend to need more time than adults to make an informed decision. Intellectually, adolescents may be very concrete, using here and now thinking. When they do consider the future, they often have idealistic or unrealistic expectations due to lack of experience. Teens often underestimate the task of parenting until they face the day-to-day challenges of raising a child. Teen communication styles may include not being very verbal, not being very engaging, and avoiding eye contact. Despite the fact that teens tend to not be verbal and tend to give superficial answers when initially dealing with authority figures, they still need to be provided with information.

At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Identify the steps healthcare professionals should follow when interacting with adolescents who may be experiencing an unplanned/unintended pregnancy;
2. Name at least two important aspects of adolescent development that healthcare professionals should keep in mind when working with teens;
3. Identify if the healthcare professional or social worker practices in a state were parental consent is required for a minor to consent to an adoption;
4. Match examples of non-directive, non-coercive techniques to their definitions.