Tolerating medical appointments

When Charles’ epilepsy medication stopped being effective, it resulted in multiple emergency hospital visits; his doctors needed to do an EEG to get his condition back under control.

Due to his long history of medical appointments Charles’ tolerance of these hospital appointments was low, and a member of school staff had to be present to provide support. Our goal was for Charles’ family to be able to attend these appointments independently, and for Charles to be able to tolerate wearing the electrodes required for the EEG test.

Building tolerance

Charles’ Supervisor visited the hospital where his appointments take place. They lent us equipment used in an EEG, and provided us with training, to allow us to practise with Charles in school. We gradually introduced the different pieces of equipment to Charles, rewarding through a token board for a motivator of his choosing. We started with simple steps, such as rubbing cleanser on a piece of hair, and built up over a few weeks to putting the electrodes on and leaving them for over 40 minutes while Charles engaged in learning and everyday activities. As his tolerance of the equipment grew we were able to reduce the amount of tokens and reinforcement needed for Charles to complete the process.

Regaining control

“The school working with Charles and ourselves has made life a lot easier” Charles’ mother

We walked Charles’ parents through the steps, showing videos taken at each stage of the process. Using the token board at the hospital, Charles and his parents had a successful appointment, which meant the doctors were able to collect the data they needed in order to confirm the correct medication for his epilepsy. Charles hasn’t had a seizure since, and his parents now have the confidence to independently attend medical appointments in the future.

“Charles seems much happier in himself and no longer has the awful anxiety before a hospital appointment”

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