Doctor appointments used to be exhausting with my son Nicholas. He has autism, is very sensitive to touch, and doesn’t like to be messed with, especially in the doctor’s office. There were meltdowns from beginning to end. He did not like getting his height and weight checked, getting vitals, or any touching during the examination in the office. Depending on the type of appointment, sometimes I had to hold him the whole time.

Hospital stays were even harder. Anytime someone entered the room, Nicholas would get upset. Between the nurses checking his vitals around the clock and holding him down while they drew his blood, made for an emotional time. Thankfully we haven’t had to stay in the hospital in a year and a half.

Nicholas has grown up so much. He’s still sensitive and a little whiny but has gotten so much better in the past year. He stands on the scale for his weight and against the wall to get his height all by himself. He lets the nurses take his temperature, record his oxygen with the pulse ox, and take his blood pressure with only a little fuss.

He used to sit on my lap for most appointments, but lately he’s been doing well by himself. At the eye doctor he sat by himself in the chair while the opthalmologist examined his eyes. He tracked the toys and lights with his eyes and followed her instructions really well.

Another time Nicholas sat across from me during a hearing test with the audiologist. I used to hold him for this test, but I was so proud of him for sitting all by himself watching him react to the different sounds presented to him. He did get a little distracted but we helped him re-focus back on the hearing test.

His pediatrician has even noticed that he’s gotten better with his appointments. He mentioned recently how Nicholas used to scream during the exam, but now he actually gets really happy when the doctor walks into the room. He likes to explore the room and move around and enjoys being there.

There are two things we need to work on with Nicholas after the vision and hearing appointments. We’re going to help him to want to wear his glasses all the time. Right now he wears them at school and during therapy. But for gross motor purposes and communication it’ll help him immensely if he were wearing his glasses full time.

Also, during hearing tests they’re unable to get a full exam, because he does get distracted and he doesn’t respond to the very quiet sounds. The best way for them to capture that is for him to wear headphones. That’s definitely something Nicholas does not tolerate, so it’s something we need to work on at home for next time.

Nicholas has come so far in the past year. I’m so proud of him and how much he’s grown. It’s incredible how independent he is now especially at the doctor’s office. What used to be something we would both dread has turned into something that’s tolerable. Nicholas is doing so well and I love being able to watch him push through things that were once so difficult for him.