Visits to appointments can bring out such anxiety and fear in our special ones, which in turns fills us with dread of the thought of going to the appointment! Mia had to go into hospital for dental treatment due to the fact that she just would not let the dentist anywhere near her after 9 years of visiting the dentist every 6 month and getting to know them!! So they decided to refer her to hospital. Mia was going to go under general anesthetic! How on earth were they going to even get a cannula into her hand, how would she sit calmly letting them take her temperature. I needed something to ensure her that all was fine. I hadn’t heard of “social stories” – Mias school made a simple story, just a few lines and pictures and letting her know at each step that “this is ok”. What a difference this made to our hospital visit. Mia was amazing, only a couple of very slight anxiety moments, I just kept showing her the story and reminding her that “this is ok”. Now if we have appointments I try (i’m no artist) to make a social story, just a few lines and pictures!! This approach makes such a difference. Anyone out there dreads the visits and hasn’t tried this, give it a go. Anyone with any other approaches or tips please share:)
Jo-Anne Salkeld 6 years, 1 month ago.