Help autistic children visit the hospital/clinic

The article was written by Master Dang Thi Thanh Tung - Psychologist - Unit of Regenerative Medicine Clinic and Educational Psychology.

In fact, no one wants to see a doctor. This was a visit that made everyone feel nervous. That's why for many people with signs: High blood pressure only in the hospital, the pulse rate also increases with emotions at each visit.
For children with special difficulties like children with autism, how to make it easier for parents/relatives to take their children to the hospital and perform these examinations quickly . In the process of counseling and contacting and working with many autistic parents at the hospital, we received a lot of comments from parents about how taking a child with autism to a doctor is a torture for both the child and the family. child's parents/relatives.

Prepare enough information for the child about:
Inform the child in advance about the visit. Tell the child a story: This includes when going to the doctor's office - doctor's office like how to let the child hear and get used to what is going to happen (with autistic children they will react very violently to having to adapt or accept very unexpected things that they do not know before or in an environment that they do not know). feel safe) Before going to the clinic/hospital (if possible), parents/relatives should also call or tell the hospital staff in advance: Doctors, nurses visit and take care of their children directly. your child's information for them to know and help You should consider the time and date of the visit that is best for your child. For example: Should it be morning or afternoon - the time when the child can feel most relaxed and comfortable or at least the time when the child is not upset because of: Pain, sleep deprivation, habits ...
If possible: Try to schedule a first or last appointment with the doctor so that the doctor and child have more comfortable contact time, the child does not have to wait, or can be seen with less exposure to harmful effects. previous cause of discomfort. If it's vaccination or illness that requires vaccination, we are sure that we should prepare children with skills: Teach children ways to relax such as: Breathing, closing their eyes or telling stories they hear about stories that children like, give children things they are interested in, reassure children before they perform examination contents such as: Weighing, measuring, temperature measurement, ear, nose and throat examination or interventions such as: Take pictures, inject,...

For a child, it is different to accept or resist the examination of doctors, or to accept or resist each administrative procedure or each examination site.
Example: Some children go to the old hospital very uncomfortable because when they go there it evokes painful feelings (tooth extraction, injection...) before, some children are not uncomfortable when the service is performed at that hospital. other hospital/clinic. This also depends on the approach of both the doctor or the medical staff there with the child and depending on the family's mental preparation for the child before each visit, the response is also different.
There are children who are very uncomfortable, but there are also children who are very interested in these examination activities... Therefore, parents also depend on each child to have plans and prepare plans for children are more suitable.
Parents can contact in advance (if possible) with doctors and medical staff where the child's parents/relatives come to know in advance some of the work that the doctor will plan to do with their child. body, the sequence of steps to give the child a short preview of these tasks.
Note: This list is short, or long... should be written down depending on the child's ability
Example:
This is a piece of paper that parents/relatives can take with their children during the child's journey. go see a doctor. The sheet should briefly outline the steps your child needs to take when seeing the doctor at the clinic/hospital: This will give your child peace of mind when looking at it to know the schedule and know what to expect next. have the right psychology/behavior
Example 1 dental visit – tooth extraction for a child at the hospital

Note: In the table of plans to talk to children: For many autistic children or children with language delays, parents should use illustrations to accompany plans and activities for children to see easily. and understand better.
With the above methods, parents have prepared their children with good knowledge and more stable psychology so that the child's visit to the clinic/hospital is no longer a psychological battle for the child and with the whole family. young parents. Moreover, this also saves time, travel costs and medical expenses when the problem is resolved quickly.
Unit of Educational Psychology - Autism, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital is a pioneer in applying scientific and artistic methods to assess and treat children with autism, with high efficiency.
Areas of intervention to educate children with autism at Vinmec:
Pediatric psychiatry Clinical psychology - educational psychology Special education Speech therapy Meditation - yoga therapy Music therapy Fine art therapy Doctors Doctors, therapists and teachers at the Center are trained at prestigious schools: University of Education, University of Social Sciences & Humanities – Hanoi National University, Academy of Educational Management ... and regularly learn to improve skills through short-term and long-term training courses at home and abroad with leading experts from the US, Australia, India, Italy.