My son is 10 now, and over the years we’ve picked up lots of tips for managing doctor appointments with Autistic kids. Sam is Non-Verbal, has high sensory needs, high levels of anxiety and often struggles in clinical settings. Read on to check out our tips for managing doctor appointments with autistic kids.

Managing Doctor Appointments With Autistic Kids

Sam was referred for an Autism diagnosis at 19 months old, so we are now 9 years into our Autism journey. In that time, we’ve had many awful appointments, as well as lots of successful ones. Over the years, some professionals have been amazing, while others have been less understanding. I’m hoping sharing these tips for managing doctor appointments with autistic kids will help make appointments easier for other families.

1. Try to take a Spare pair of Hands

Sam often finds clinical environments challenging, so needs a lot of support when you are in the consultant’s room. I have always had to attend most appointments without a spare pair of hands, and this has been really hard. Trying to talk to professionals, share concerns and listen to their thoughts is really hard when you’re trying to prevent (or diffuse) a meltdown.

I saw this digital stethoscope online last week, and think it could be a game-changer, in terms of allowing professionals to get obs on Autistic patients, without getting too close. One Paediatrician we visited often had a “Play Therapist” in her room with her, who would engage with the child, so parents could talk. This helped in two ways. Firstly, the parent was free to discuss concerns. The Paediatrician could also observe the child engaging with pre-planned activities, to see how the child responded.

2. Phone Ahead to Inform Staff if You’re Likely to Struggle

Our former GP was fantastic with Sam, but the waiting room was often too busy. When Sam had GP appointments but was overwhelmed, I phoned the GP surgery. Almost every time, they were able to show us to an empty consultation room to wait there, away from the busy waiting room. On the 2 occasions they couldn’t do this, they said we could wait in the car and then phoned me when Sam was called over the tannoy.

On a recent trip to A&E, they told us where the sensory room was, so we could wait in there if we wanted to. Unfortunately, another family had set up camp in there to wait for news on a really poorly relative, so it wasn’t helpful on that occasion.

3. Say no when Necessary

Some doctors have played with Sam to build his trust so he will let them examine him, but most either try to get me to hold him down while they do it, or they refuse. This means I have had to say no to various requests over the years.

Sam struggles massively with medical intervention. So when student doctors want to be in the room, I’ve learnt to say no. The extra bodies in the room definitely make things harder for Sam. I’ve also refused blood tests on several occasions, as the process is far too traumatic for Sam, so unless it’s absolutely necessary, I say no. On another occasion, I felt an A&E doctor had been too rough and dismissive of Sam. So we went to a different hospital and I was right.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Complain

Several years ago, Sam was waiting patiently in a clinic waiting room. He was around 7 years old at the time and was making happy noises. An older man sat near to us told him to shut up, and used a couple of expletives in the process. I was completely gobsmacked.

I told the Dentist when we were called through and she very quickly apologised. The next time we went to the dentist, we saw they had a new “quiet room”. I’m not sure if that was down to my complaining or not, but nothing changes if we don’t speak up. This quiet room will definitely help managing doctor appointments with autistic kids easier for some.

5. Take Whatever you Need

If your child will find the appointment easier to cope with if they have their pushchair, iPad, bottle of milk, packet of chocolate buttons or favourite toy… Take them with you. Sam often spends the time we were in waiting rooms watching his tablet, munching on his current food of choice. If it keeps them calm, the staff won’t mind.

I hope these tips for managing doctor appointments with autistic kids have proved useful. Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips to add. Finally, I recently read this post on regulation exercises for SEND parents, and thought it may benefit lots of my readers!