Back to the Specialist’s office
After our trip to the paediatrician last week, we had an appointment today for Jack to have his hearing tested. We have never really had any concerns with his hearing, but the paediatrician felt that we needed to have it checked anyway.
So today we returned to the same specialist consulting suites, this time feeling just a little more anxious after the events of last time (the 2 major meltdowns), but a little more prepared in terms of an action plan in case things went a little crazy.
I had left Annie with my sister and her kids (so that there were less distractions for Jack), and had made a stop at the shops on the way to the appointment to buy Jack a sticker / activity book. So far so good.
When we arrived at the consulting suites, Jack looked at the building and I noticed his body tense up a little as he said “do we have to see the same doctor?” I assured him that this time we were seeing someone different and that it would be a really quick visit.
We checked in to reception and the first thing I did was ask how long the wait was. The receptionist told me it would be about 10 minutes, so I said that we would go for a walk and come back. Thankfully there are quite a few large areas of garden and lawn around the buildings where we were, so Jack happily walked with me (listening to the birds) and then we sat quietly under a tree just outside the consulting suites to look at his book as we waited for his turn with the audiologist.
When we were called in for our appointment I was really glad I had made the decision to wait outside in the garden, because the waiting room had become quite busy and noisy (and very stimulating)!!
Jack looked a little anxious as we made our way down the same long hallway as we had been last week when visiting the paediatrician, but relaxed again as we entered the audiologists office, and he happily sat down to look at his book.
From here things went really smoothly. Jack happily sat in the closed booth to have his hearing checked, and then sat beside me as the audiologist and I spoke. The audiologist had a lovely way with him, and he was really calm through the whole process.
Then the moment came where Jack had reached his threshold for waiting and he stood up and said “it’s time to go, I must go now or I’ll be late for school”, and with that he headed towards the door. Thankfully the audiologist and I were nearing the end of our discussion, and she was very understanding in the fact that at that point we just needed to go.
So off we went. We did have to wait at the reception area for a couple of minutes on our way out (to settle the account), but Jack headed straight for the door and outside, and waited for me under the tree that we had found earlier.
So we left… with me breathing a big sigh of relief that we had survived the appoinment without a meltdown!
Now I just need to work out how to bottle this whole ‘meltdown free’ experience… hmmm…
Elissa 
March 13th, 2008 at 3:04 am
That’s wonderful. I hope his hearing comes back in good shape!
March 13th, 2008 at 3:35 am
I forgot to mention… the result - no problems with his hearing in terms of hearing noises and sounds, he scored really well on this… we will have the auditory ‘processing’ part of his hearing checked at a later stage. (The audiologist thought it would be a good idea to check just how well the ‘messages’ are ‘processing’.)
March 13th, 2008 at 4:00 am
I’m so glad it went well this time.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Good for you Elissa! You got him to go back into the same office, down the same hall, and no melt down. Fantastic job! I’m sorry your first Dr. was such a nightmare!
March 13th, 2008 at 4:30 am
I love how they just know when it is time to go. Perhaps you need to get good at finding a waiting tree wherever you go.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:30 am
What a great outcome!
Auditory processing can be the main problem with many kids, mine has overly-sensitive hearing and has to deal with auditory overloads, sometimes not very well with major meltdowns.
Fingers crossed for you
March 13th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Well done Jack!!
March 13th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Very good. I am glad the appointment went well. It always helps for M to have a bag of goodies in the waiting room. Waiting can be the hardest part.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I can only hope that auditory processing turns out as well as the hearing did. Fingers crossed. Prayers being said. Vibes being sent your way.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
When you figure out how to bottle that- put me down for a case.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Oh how I have unfond memories of those appointments. It seems they have the longest wait for some reason. I am happy it went well.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
My son has visited numerous specialists over the years, so I know how
stressful those appointments can be and that sometimes the specialist is not so helpful (as you indicated in an earlier post). Am glad that your most recent experience went so much better. It’s so helpful when professionals are understanding.
It looks like you have developed excellent coping techniques for handling appointments. I also prefer to leave my other child
with a sitter because it’s easier for everyone involved. Going outside has helped us too.
I read your posts for this week all at once. I hope your stress level is going down some. Transitions can be really hard for our kids. Transition issues have been the #1 cause of meltdowns in regards to my son. Hopefully your son will get better at dealing with transitions as he ages. We used to deal with meltdowns daily, but now that my guy is nine, the rate of m.d’s has slowed significantly. He still has them, but only about once or twice a month for a much shorter duration. The 5-8 year old period was really hard for my family, so I understand what you are going through.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I’m so glad to hear you had a good doctor visit (I just posted about one with my son too!). It has been a long road to smooth office visits for us. There are so many things to consider and prepare for! I think as our children get older it becomes easier for them to understand and accept what is going on, which helps also.
I tried several audiologist appointments with my son when he was younger. This was before he talked and we honestly didn’t know if he had hearing difficulties or not. Anyways, none of the visits were ever successful (at ages 3 and 4). That bothered me for a while, but within a couple years after that it became evident from my son’s behavior and eventual ability to communicate that there was no hearing problem.
I’ll have to check out your previous posts to see if you posted about the other visit.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I’m glad you had an appointment that went well and that you got a physician with a decent bedside manner - that can make all the difference. Hoping for many more such successes in your future
March 16th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yeah for those types of successes!! Xander had a good experience this morning at church… I, too, wish that we could bottle the ‘meltdown free’ times. By the way, thank you for the birthday wishes!
March 16th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I tried a neat trick on Friday for kindergarten registration with my just-turned 6 year old - we had gone last year before deciding on another year of Early Intervention and I was worried about meltdowns if things weren’t exactly the same. We talked before about how some things might be the same and some things might be different, and I suggested we notice everything that happens and make a list when we get home of what was the same and what was different.
It seemed to work pretty well. Whenever he would start to protest or get upset, I would agree that this was something different and say that we could put it on our list when we got home, and he calmed down. Not to say that it will work every time, but we got through the experience with no more than a little whining.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Catch! I’ve flung some blog bling your way
http://leechbabe.blogspot.com/2008/03/o-holy-heatwave.html
Hope this week has been better for you.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Well done to you both.
When you bottle THE MELTDOWN FREE EXPERIENCE you will be very wealthy,I will definitely be a customer.