Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Take the fear out of blood work












Most children are nervous about having blood drawn, but kids with autism can find it particularly worrying and overwhelming.

That's why Autism Speaks today released a Blood Draw Tool Kit for parents, with a companion guide for professionals.

The tool kit includes tips on how to prepare your child, relaxation and distraction strategies, a visual schedule of what happens during a blood draw, 'first-then' boards (see image above), how to write a related social story, and why it's important to bring a reward.

The kit is designed to help children with autism before, during and after blood draws. But I believe parents of all children will benefit from these strategies. Check it out! Louise

2 comments:

That was interesting and I'm sure the pamphlet will be helpful to some caregivers, but everything I read seemed like common sense to me. Maybe because Cody and I have been through a bazillion blood draws and doctor appointments. :)

Interesting you would say that. My daughter doesn't mind having blood tests. I was surprised, I thought she would hate it.

Clara