Supporting children with autism to access medical appointments and treatments

Background and objectives/ introduction Children with autism, like all children, need to attend a range of medical and health appointments and undergo examinations and treatments. There are a number of skills that we often... [ view full abstract ]

Background and objectives/ introduction
Children with autism, like all children, need to attend a range of medical and health appointments and undergo examinations and treatments. There are a number of skills that we often take for granted that are required for these appointments; waiting, sitting still, tolerating unusual situations/procedures, interacting with unfamiliar people. This can make routine procedures very challenging and can lead to children with autism requiring more invasive and riskier procedures such as general anaesthetic.
Methods
We have targeted accessing medical appointments/treatment with 8 children with a diagnosis of autism aged between 4 and 12, with a wide range of support needs.
Targets have included preparing children for appointments with a primary care doctor, hospital consultant, dentist and optometrist, as well as taking medication at home. Each received an individualised programme which included: task analysis, identification of skill gaps/problem areas, sensory desensitisation, parental involvement and delivery, liaising with professionals involved, practice of component parts of appointment.
Results
All children successfully attended the appointments and underwent the examination/treatment required. They were able to take follow up prescribed medication where required. A number of these children consequently avoided the need for further more invasive treatment.
Conclusion
This type of intervention requires time and planning which is not always available or possible (in emergencies). Feedback from parents suggests that the experience was much more positive breaking a history of negative experiences. We also found that parents could often generalise the strategies/procedures to support their children when attending other appointments.