Trips to the doctor or dentist are hard for any kid. They’re especially tough for our learners with autism and other delays. In this podcast episode, we dive into tolerating medical appointments for learners and their families. A lot of the kids we work with may need multiple medical procedures, which sometimes creates an avoidance of anyone touching them or coming close. Desensitization to the experience is key and we need to be careful and gentle. Taking a step-by-step approach to desensitization where the learner gets to call the shots is the goal.
If a kid can learn to tolerate medical appointments on their own, it becomes a free choice. We break down the desensitization process, beginning with identifying the very first step your learner must take. We also talk about how to help kids feel safer about the experience, the benefits of social exposure through videos and play, how to be a good salesperson about the dentist or doctor, and the importance of modeling when normalizing going to appointments.
We’ve created a task analysis for teaching children to tolerate the dentist that you can use for FREE! Get it below.
What’s Inside:
- A walkthrough of the desensitization process to help learners tolerate appointments.
- How to be a good salesperson about the dentist or doctor and make kids feel safe.
- How modeling helps to normalize going to the doctor and dentist.
Mentioned In This Episode:
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Blog – How To Use Video Modeling
Blog – Graduated Exposure
