– Photo Credit: jeinny at Star Stock

Clinic visits can be tough on kids. When the kids with special needs have painful and scary memories of medical professional and procedures, a trip can be especially difficult. A post by Andi, who blogs about life with her daughter with cerebral palsy and her son with Down syndrome at Bringing in the Sunshine, offers tips to reduce the trauma and maximize clinic visits.

6 Ways to Ease Clinic Visits

1. Take another adult. Andi says the presence of another adult is crucial, though that person doesn’t have to be your spouse. Sometimes, someone with a little more distance thinks of questions a person close to the situation might overlook.
2. Take a notebook and pen. Because taking pen and paper notes is quicker than trusting your memory and going home to type notes on the computer.
3. Take video. Not video while you are there, but video of your child that documents behavior, physical regression, or whatever concerns you want to discuss with the doctor.
4. Take photos. For reasons similar to those for taking video. Pictures taken from several different angles can give doctors a more complete idea of what’s happening with your child.
5. Let your child talk and answer questions as much as possible. Parents who are used to speaking on behalf of very young children have to learn to let their children speak for themselves. Sometimes kids will reveal something to the doctor that they haven’t mentioned to parents.
6. Take snacks. Because clinic visits, especially to teaching hospitals, can drag on and on and on.

Andi’s post fleshes out each item in the list more completely, so check out her post, Six Tips for Maximizing a Specialty Pediatric Clinic Visit. I hope you have time to camp out at her site for a while because she has some great stuff there.

Your Clinic Visit Tips?

Does your child with special needs have frequent clinic visits? What tips make the visits go smoothly and reduce stress for your child? Leave your ideas in the comment box.

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