Social Story – Visiting Hospital

From one extreme to the other my blog entries seem to hop about all over the shop.

Today is a social story about visiting granddad in the hospital. I read this to Heidi twice before our visit on Wednesday and it seems to have helped her to cope. She still gets very distressed as we enter the Oncology building – although she has no problems with any of the other hospital buildings we walk through on the way there. I’m trying to keep her visits to the hospital short and sweet and not all that frequent. Poor mite keeps repeating “I’m scared” as we walk into the Oncology Building and needs all her comfort objects in the pram with her (and the pram is a comfort object in itself).

So onto the social story, text is below or there is a .pdf attached with text and images (please note I had pictures of Granddad and our car in the social story that I deleted before uploading the file).

visiting-granddad-in-the-hospital

Granddad is sick, he sometimes does not get enough air to breath.

Sometimes Granddad has to go to hospital so the doctors can give him special medicine.

When Granddad is at the hospital we can visit him. Visiting Granddad is fun.

When we visit Granddad at the hospital Heidi can give him a hug and say “I love you Granddad”.

Sometimes Granddad might be sitting in a chair and sometimes Granddad might by lying down in his special hospital bed or Granddad could be sitting up in his hospital bed.

Heidi can give Granddad a hug and say “I love you Granddad’ no matter where he is sitting up or lying down. Granddad likes it when Heidi gives him and hug and says “I love you Granddad”.

Sometimes when we visit the hospital Granddad will be in a different room or bed or chair to when we visited him before. This is okay, it is fun to see Granddad in different places.
Granddad might have lots of tubes and wires on him. The tubes and wires are Granddads medicine.
The tubes and wires are NOT a toy. Heidi can not pull on or play with the tubes or wires.

Heidi can can sit on a chair or in her pram and do something else fun like play quietly with her drawing things, or have a snack or play with the toys in her bag.

Mummy and Daddy like to talk to Granddad when he is at the hospital. When Mummy and Daddy are talking to Granddad, Heidi can and do something else fun.

Lots of other people sleep in the special beds in the hospital. It is important for Heidi to be quiet at the hospital and use her inside voice so she does not wake up the sleeping people.

Heidi can use her quiet inside voice to talk to Granddad, just like Mummy and Daddy. If Heidi does not want to talk then she can sit on a chair or in her pram and do something else fun.

If Heidi needs to go to the toilet she should say “toilet time please” to Mummy or Daddy. Heidi needs Mummy or Daddy to hold her hand when she goes to the toilet, Mummy and Daddy like to hold Heidis hand..

The toilet in the hospital has lots of buttons and switches on the wall, they are NOT toys. The buttons and switches are red and green and other fun colours. Heidi can look at the buttons and switches with her eyes. Heidi must NOT touch the buttons and switches because they are NOT toys. Heidi can touch the big button on the toilet that makes it flush. Heidi can wash her hands in the sink and use the paper towel to dry her hands.

When we have finished visiting Granddad Mummy or Daddy will tell Heidi that we have ‘finished visiting’. Heidi can give Granddad a hug goodbye and say “I love you Granddad’. Granddad likes it when Heidi gives him a hug and says “I love you Granddad”.

Visiting Granddad in the hospital is fun.

When we have finished visiting Heidi will get in the car with Mummy and Daddy and drive home.

At home Heidi can have a drink of milk from her Wiggles cup and watch a DVD or jump on her trampoline, or play with her little people or do something else that is fun.

After reading about Posterous at Lee’s place I’ve decided to give it a go as a place to store my social stories online. I will still post them here but for those who visit my blog just for the social stories this is a more streamlined (thanks Lee) way to view them.