How is it like to have patients who are autistic or with down syndrome? Do you have the patience and magic touch as a nurse? Can you tickle their mind and hearts in order for them to agree with your interventions? This article is inspired from a lifelong journey of the author and with her special sister.
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How is it like to have patients who are autistic or with down syndrome?
Do you have the patience and magic touch as a nurse?
Can you tickle their mind and hearts in order for them to agree with your interventions?
Children who are mentally-challenged or diagnosed with incapabilities will always have a soft spot in my heart. These type of patients such as those diagnosed with autism or cerebral palsy needs special attention from health care providers.
Having a younger sister with such is an eye-opener to me and to my parents. My sister was diagnosed with autism accompanying with mild retardation when she was six years old. Being the eldest, I comforted my mother who was very much emotional about the diagnosis. She could not accept the fact that we need to look after her to the best of our capabilities, that independence is not applicable to her, and that patience is something that we should endure always.
To further elaborate this, her IQ is not enough for her to study and learn the way normal kids learn. With the best of patience we can bear, my sister was able to grasp and apply basic things such as toilet training, eating on her own and telling us things she desires through pointing. She can only speak a few words and the rest of it are non-sense sounds autistic children usually utter.
My sister grew up. Illness became inevitable from time to time. What's difficult among special children is that they cannot tell if what they're feeling is normal. I observed this to my sister for the past few years. In 2011, she was diagnosed with GERD. Nausea and vomiting kept her weak and thin during the attack of her illness.
However, she doesn't complain. She just go to her bed and lie down. Far different from other people, GERD is a painful condition requiring hospitalization in some cases. My sister's pain tolerance is not something to be proud of but it is a caution among us nurses the next time we assess these special children.
So being a nurse with a sister with special needs, here are a few tips if by chance we encounter them.
Understand and Be Patient. They are the ones who needs extreme tolerance even at times of tantrums.
Constant assessment is always needed as they do not usually say what they abnormally feel.
Ask the relatives whenever problems arise as they know what their children need at times of confusion with communication.
Most of the special children do not want to be forced to do something so wait for them to agree with it or you may try to soften their hearts by offering something.
It seems that the best patients aren't those who are obedient but rather those whom we are able to help despite the physical and mental disabilities that they possess. My autistic sister has inspired me to understand these kind of patients.
In the future, I'm looking forward to help them at the best of my capabilities whenever they are admitted at the hospital.
