Taking an autistic child to hospital: a visual plan for the visit

Hospitals are bright, loud, full of strangers in uniform, and run on waiting. The visit goes better when every step has been seen in pictures first, and when the staff know what your child needs.

Ask the hospital for help first

Most NHS trusts have a hospital passport (sometimes ‘All About Me’): one page about your child’s communication, sensory needs and what calms them. Fill it in and hand it over at the desk; it travels with the notes.
Ask the learning disability or autism liaison nurse, if the hospital has one, to flag the appointment. They can arrange a quieter room, the first slot of the day, or a pre-visit.
Many children’s hospitals have photo tours or videos of the ward online.

Show the steps

Read the hospital story in the days before, then use the picture strip on the day: car, desk, wait, name called, doctor, (medicine, plaster or sticker), home. Say who will touch them and where, before it happens: ‘The nurse will put a tight band on your arm. It squeezes for ten seconds.' Count out loud; a count has an end.

The wait

Plan for an hour of waiting even if the appointment is ten minutes. A bag of hospital-only things: a tablet with downloads, a fidget, a snack if eating is allowed, ear defenders. Ask whether you can wait somewhere quieter and be fetched; often the answer is yes.

Procedures

Ask for numbing cream for blood tests and cannulas, and for the play specialist, who exists exactly for this.
Agree a stop signal with your child and tell the staff what it is; being listened to once makes the next time possible.
Let your child hold something and look at something: a screen, a book, your face. Not the needle.

Staying overnight

Bring the bedtime routine with you: the same pillowcase, the story, the night light, the picture schedule. A parent can usually stay. Tell your child the order of the evening and that you will be there in the morning, and put ‘home’ on the strip even if you don’t know the day yet.

Make the free story first

Type your child’s name and get “Sam goes to hospital” as a picture story: one picture and one sentence a page, in their name. Read it a few times before the day, then take it with you. Print it, save it as a PDF, or read it in the Now & Next app with every routine as a story too.

Make the story (free) Open the app

Kits that go with this guide

First Times Story Pack (£3.49): 26 one-page picture stories for first times: school, the dentist, hospital, a plane, a new baby, Christmas and more.
Calm Down Corner Kit (£4.49): A Calm Corner sign, 8 calming posters, a feelings scale, a calm choices board and 18 cards.
Break and help cards (£2.99): 12 lanyard cards to ask for a break or help without words, plus a break board.

Written by a dad to an autistic son with ADHD. This is everyday parenting advice, not medical or therapy advice. If you’re worried about your child, talk to your GP, health visitor or school SENCo.