For children with autism and other learning challenges, visiting the doctor can be a huge source of anxiety. Likewise, parents can stress out for weeks prior to an upcoming doctor’s appointment, anticipating their child's potential outbursts and not wanting to subject their child to the related anxiety. To help your family prepare for your next doctor's visit, here are 4 tips to help you and your child alleviate the stress:
1. Roleplay
Video learning is an important part of helping a child with exceptionalites develop vocal/verbal skills. But, it is also helpful in teaching other types of daily living skills, such as going to the doctor and interacting with peers. Implementing effective video learning strategies across the home and school settings can sometimes present challenges. Below, Dr. Gilmour outlines some Dos and Don'ts to help ensure success when using a video learning program.
The little boy sat in front of a computer at his family’s kitchen table. On the screen was a close up image of his mother’s mouth, saying the word “halib” over and over. The video quickly flashed to an image of a carton of milk that the boy recognized from his own refrigerator, then to other images of milk cartons, and finally back to his mother saying the word “halib,” or milk, in Arabic.