This might not be a beautiful sight to you, but to me it's gorgeous! Riley has been to the dentist exactly twice. The first time it was a bloodbath. I had to physically restrain her, as she screamed her head off during her cleaning. Seth was three and he cowered in the corner, crying, terrified. I could not help him.She had another cleaning a year ago, and did not scream, but she held fast to the armrests of the chair, and whimpered the whole way through. Imagine the sensory bombardment?
Riley has a severe overbite. Ideally she should get orthodontia, but I'm not certain she can tolerate it sensory wise. Yesterday was our first trip to the orthodontist and the photo you see above required them putting plastic lip gripping utensils in her mouth to pull it wide open. She was pretty scared, and had a couple of moments, but the doctor was so warm, and patient and understanding. Riley is getting so much better at expressing herself. Instead of screaming her head off, she cried,
"Are you going to hurt me? Are you going to hurt me?"
Because she was able to ask him this, he was able to then reassure her. Non-verbal kids on the spectrum, I love you so much and my heart goes out to you and your parents.
The Dr. and I agree that orthodontia is not possible for Riley, emotionally speaking, for another couple of years. Until then, we'll keep visiting him, building trust, seeing what happens.
My girl got her x-rays and dealt with the plastic thing-a-ma-bobs. She is so brave.
15 comments:
Step by step - she'll get there.
Kudos to you, Riley, the dentist for patience and gentleness.
Riley ROCKS! Wow!!! And a big pat on the back for YOU in all this for, I'm sure, doing the homework to find a dentist that would work well with Riley - which as you know will make or break the experience!
I bet it feels all the sweeter with the experiences Riley/Seth had in the past.
XO R
I can so relate.
she is conquering so much every day.
our first dentists appointment was a ride in the chair. the second, counting teeth. baby steps. all baby steps.
What a heart warming story..... so positive.
The "building trust" thing is really important! I had a very similar appointment at five years old... the screaming, hitting, etc. But we went back, and back, and back. Now, I dread it, sometimes I throw up afterward from the horrible sensory overload of the lights and textures, but I deal. I keep the rest of the day quiet, though I'm sure you've already thought of that. If I can go there with the sens-o-meter on 0 (know what i mean...?), it helps a lot in sensory intense situations.
Hang in there. My son had really intense sensory issues and I dreaded the dentist/orthodontist. We waited for him to mature a bit more before we got started and we found the ortho that listened to me and took my concerns seriously. They'll surprise you, these kids! I am proud to say that he did it. From the palate expander to the braces, he did it! His teeth are straight and healthy and his "being" barely even resembles the sensory nightmare that he was at 9. Hang in there!
Almost forgot to mention - if she is a proprioceptive seeker, wearing the vest that they put on you for the xrays (for the entire exam)really helps. It kind of makes you feel more "grounded" if that makes sense. Good luck!
Bless her sweet little heart! What a trooper. And, what you wrote about nonverbal kids? Really touched me tonight. Thank you for understanding so well.
The whole communication/trust issue is why I, literally, walked out on Nik's dentist; he and his staff didn't even TRY to understand what he might be going through and just "muscled" their way through the exam. This was at the children's hospital, too! Never again.
The appendix, the teeth, that bellybutton picture...I never know what I'll find when I visit your blog! :-)
I am in awe of everyone here.
Awesome.:) my heart goes out to Riley. I am so happy this is a good dentist! I love me one-o-them.
:)be
Yay Riley! Go Mom!
XO brave girl.
Baby steps. WTG Riley!
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