Visiting the doctor can be particularly challenging for autistic children. Autistic children may have difficulty articulating what’s wrong, and may have sensory sensitivities that make just being in an unfamiliar environment unpleasant or overwhelming.
Below are some tips for making a visit to the doctor easier on autistic children:
- Autistic children often respond to pain or sickness differently to their non-autistic peers. They may not be able to tell you what’s wrong, even if they are otherwise articulate; they might react to pain with anger or distress that is difficult to interpret; and in some cases they might hurt themselves in an attempt to block out a painful or unpleasant sensation. It can help to ask the child’s parent or caregiver if they’ve behaved like this before, and what the problem was that time. Giving a list of options can help the child isolate what’s wrong and communicate it to you (“Are you in pain/is it something else?” “Is the pain in your head/stomach/chest?”).
- Be patient. Many autistic children will need extra time to process a question before they can answer it, and they may need to be given information in small chunks instead of all at once (even more so than other children). Some autistic children will want to know every detail of what’s happening, and what treatment they’re going to be given, and they may ask you to repeat this information multiple times, or ask the same questions over and over. This is common in autistic children who are anxious or worried about what’s going to happen – every time you give them the same answer, you are reassuring them and making them feel safer.
- Some autistic children communicate via sign, writing, typing into a device, or another form of alternate communication. It may be worth considering scheduling longer appointments for these children, as their methods of communication often take longer than a spoken conversation.
- Be specific. Many autistic people communicate very literally, and autistic children may struggle with broad questions like “What brings you here today?” or “What’s the problem?”. Direct, yes-or-no questions or lists of options can be helpful.
- Make your office as sensory-friendly as possible. Autistic children experience the world very differently to others, and this often includes being more sensitive to sensory input like sounds, smells, and light. Buzzing or fluorescent lights, high levels of background noise, and visually busy environments can all be unpleasant, overwhelming, or painful to autistic children.
- Consider scheduling appointments for autistic children early in the day, so that they won’t be waiting in the overwhelming waiting room environment for as long, and if possible reduce the noise, brightness and visual busy-ness levels in the waiting room.
- Make your schedule as clear and accurate as possible. Running late in doctor’s offices is unavoidable, but waiting for uncertain amounts of time can be incredibly difficult for autistic children.
- Having a clock visible in the waiting area, and providing updates on how much longer the wait will be, can be very helpful for older children who are able to read clocks; having distractions like toys or books available can be helpful for autistic children of all ages.
- Some autistic children find it difficult to tolerate being touched, especially by an unfamiliar adult like their GP. Explaining what you’re going to do and why (adjusted for the age and ability of the child) can help the child tolerate uncomfortable experiences.
- Some autistic children will need this done as simply as possible; some will need as much detail as you can give – parents or caregivers will usually be able to let you know how to make their child feel comfortable and safe.
This resource was written by an autistic author (2022).