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It has never been easy for parents to visit the doctors for their children with autism spectrum disorder or ASD, rather it has been a scary thing for the children. After all, they are going to experience something for the first time. When a child is going to meet the pediatrician for the first time, routines and familiarity cannot be expected. In this article, few tips recommended by the MAPS pediatricians have been listed. Let’s check them out:

Prepare Your Child Well in Advance

Parents should give their children ample time before their first MAPS pediatrician visits. The sooner you will start preparing your child, the more prepared he or she will be. You can make children read picture books on visiting doctors, or you can buy a toy doctor kit to make them aware of the environment. Even you can watch a video featured on a friendly doctor. These little activities will help your children overcome the fear of visiting pediatric professionals for the first time.

Pick the Right Time for Appointment

You should choose the right time for appointment. It would be better if you can arrange the first appointment of the day or the first appointment after the lunch break. It will reduce the time you need to spend waiting for your turn in the waiting room. You should always schedule the time keeping in the mind your child’s schedule, nap, and meal times.

Help Your Child Understand the Environment

As your children are not familiar with the environment of the doctor’s chambers, it’s your duty to try to make them understand about the same. One of the best ways would be talking to them freely and allowing them to ask you queries floating around their minds about the pediatrician’s chamber. One thing that needs careful handling is what you say to your children. Suppose you’re describing the doctor’s chamber to your child, don’t make it scary to them at all. For instance, don’t tell them such thing to keep quiet as the doctor is very moody and he/she may punish them. This kind of saying can evoke a sense of fear in children and hence can lead to further complications.

Take Your Child in a Quiet Room

In a doctor’s chamber, the waiting room is perhaps the busiest place. It can be too much for little ones. So, you should ask if you can take children in a quiet room or a secondary waiting room. In most of the cases, nurses or the other staffs help the parents take children in a quiet place to calm them.

Help the Staff with Information about Your Child

If you want the best accommodation for your child, you need to provide  authorities with relevant information about your children. Generally, whenever the parents ask for an appointment, they demand a form to be filled by the parents. In this form, you should enter right information about your child, so that the staff can understand each child’s characteristics and accommodate accordingly.

Carry Comfort Objects with You During the Visit

Most of the children have some comfort objects that help them feel comfortable and secure. If your child has something that can help you keep the child composed, don’t forget to carry it with you during the visit to the doctor’s chamber.

Carry Food and Other Essential Things

You may need to wait for a long time in the doctor’s chamber. Therefore, it would be better if you can carry food and other things essential to your child (for instance, medicines, if required).  If the child becomes hungry. He/she will become restless and start crying. To avoid such situations, you should never forget to carry food and other important things.

Help the Doctor Communicate

If we look at the past MAPS pediatrician visits records, it is clear that pediatricians build a long-term and strong relationship with children during the course of their treatment. But, you can’t expect this familiarity at the first visit. Therefore, you need to help the doctor communicate. Some children deny talking to the doctor out of fear. You should assure them and make them feel safe. You need to insist them affectionately to communicate with the doctor.

A Final Takeaway

It is not easy to deal with children; autistic children in particular, as they are the most sensitive creatures, unaware of the way of the world. A first-time visit to a pediatrician, is, of course, a great deal for them. Even parents feel nervous as well. But everything can be handled properly if you follow the tips discussed above. Being parents, you should keep your nerve strong and organize everything with love and care. MAPS pediatrician visits can lead your child to a better life. 

 About the Author

Autism and ADHD is a mom blog that shares experiences of raising  children, and provides educational resource articles for its readers. Read more articles from the blog here: AutismLearningFelt.com