My inspiration for blogging is
everywhere and for that I am so grateful. Yesterday I was inspired
for today's post while sitting in the doctor's office with my
daughter. I had plenty of time to reflect on the many visits to many
medical professionals we had had over the nearly two decades of her
life. Those early visits were very hard. Hey, I had a young
daughter who had just been diagnosed with Autism and guess what? She
had Autism! Plus, back in the day a lot of the doctors, dentists,
eye care professionals, front desk staff, etc. (you get the picture)
did not know a lot about Autism. Those three paragraphs in Psych 101
really did not do Autism the justice it deserved. Then the lay folks
just wanted to know if she could count toothpicks like Rainman (the
answer is still no).
Here we are in 2012 and with it being
estimated that 1 in 110 children being born today has some form of
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism is not a word that needs an
explanation to anyone. Medical professionals are learning so much
more about Autism and other types of special needs and this makes the
lives of the patients they see (and the parents/guardians) so much
easier. We thank you for that and please know it is recognized and
appreciated.
A lot of your patients may have
communication difficulties (Autism is a communication disorder no
matter where on the spectrum a person falls) and you can make those
office visits easier for them by adding visuals to the visit. I am
not suggesting you turn your office into specialized center for those
with special needs at all. But why not utilize Do2Learn products to
put together 1 or 2 binders to use with those special patients when
they come in?
What should be in those binder you
might be asking yourself?
Well, I recommend pictures of
things that you would be using during the visits. Laminate these
pictures. Three hole punch the pictures so they go into the binders
easily and can be removed for each specific patient.
Make-A-Schedule is a wonderful resource for these pictures and
Do2Learn is adding more and more medically related pictures everyday
to the program. Doctors, Dentists, Hospitals and other Medical
related professionals are assisting us in what they are discovering
they need. Please let us know what you might want too!
I would also add a few one-page
social stories about any exams the patient might be going through.
This can be for the parent to read over with patient while waiting.
The story can include pictures ( Make-A-Schedule) or just words for
someone who may be higher functioning and can read it themselves.
This can alleviate a lot of anxiety before a blood draw or a dental
exam/procedure to know exactly what to expect. Click
here for Do2Learn's example of a picture social story.
