Preparing my 4 yo for First Neuro Eval...any Pro-tips?

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My son's first visit with a Developmental Pediatrician is coming up at the end of this month, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for preparing him for the process. He is 4 and has pretty high anxiety in any sort of clinical setting, usually crying or just "shutting down," but any sort of doctor's visit seems to be a scary experience for him. Are there any children's books, videos, or other strategies that you guys know about that help young ASD kids with preparing for a doctor's visit.

I know that helpautismnowcom has an A/V presentation about visiting the doctor, but I'm not sure what other social stories may be available:

Oops! Can't post links here yet because I'm too new. If you go to helpautismnowcom , you will see a pull down menu for some social stories. "Going to the Doctor" is one of them.

Developmental pediatricians are typically pretty great with little ones, particularly with the first visit. I would plan on bringing his favorite "soother" (blankie, toy, etc.) and maybe a promise of a small treat after the visit for being so brave. I would also try to bring some snacks - since the visit may be long by his estimation. I think the fact that you are talking about it now is great - maybe you can visit the office just to walk around before your appointment? He can check out the toys and books in the waiting room and maybe have something to look forward to to seeing again during the appointment?

Good luck! You'll do great!

My son has very high anxiety in doctors' offices as well. What I have tried (although they don't always work) is to bring some of the toys that he likes and can distract him while waiting. Today for example, I took him to see the pediatrician that he hasn't seen in almost 2 years (because we went with another one, a decision I regret). He could recognize the office but he didn't have a melt down.

I don't know if this is good or bad, but I knew some of his soother behaviors like covering something up with his blanket, so I brought along the blanket and the object that I know he likes to cover up. It helped with the appointment.

Let me know how it goes and I'll be thinking of you and your child.

If you can, talk with the doc's office about what the testing will be like. Our initial evaluations were with a series of therapists (speech, physical, occupational...) They did things like go through flip charts with pictures of various items and ask DS to name them (this can be hilarious BTW since our kids have such a unique take on the world), they did puzzles, the psychologist played with him with dolls. The PT checked is large and small motor coordination with different activities. The OT had a series of activities she did with him to test pencil grip and other stuff that I totally forget now.

If you can find out more about what specifically they will be doing, then you can talk with your child about what to expect. Are they going to allow you to stay with him or do they want Mom out of the room? I know for us, just being prepared for what to expect and being able to talk about that before hand helps a lot.

We like Richard Scarry's book about going to the Doctor. I think its just called Dr. Doctor.

Thank you all for the wonderful ideas! I will definitely try some these out. Our appointment got moved up to this week, so I will keep you posted