“Okay, and is Declan going to school these days?”
“Yes,” I said to the Pediatrician and looked at Declan who was crouched in the corner of the room with his hands and arms over his entire head, “He goes to the Intermediate Unit for special education preschool.”
“And how about the dentist. How does the dentist say his teeth are doing?”
“Well, we’ve never been. I don’t know who to take him to.”
The Pediatrician looked over his glasses at me.
“He’s four years old now and needs his teeth checked. Please make sure you have them checked soon.”
That visit was almost three years ago. I was finding it a challenge to take Declan to the dentist. And not even the actual visit.
FINDING a dentist that would see him was the challenge.
I called many and explained my situation. I explained that Declan had autism and the dentist probably wouldn’t actually see inside Declan’s mouth at the first visit but that the first visit would be more about introducing Declan to the dentist, the dentist’s office, chair, sights and smells.
No one was really interested in providing this kind of assistance.
And as I was going through phone books, or calling possible leads from dentists office I had contacted, I saw this Kickstarter video for Autism Village.
I was drawn in by Topher Wurts and his son on the autism spectrum, Kirby. I could relate to their story.
As I watched the Kickstarter video I realized how valuable Autism Village would be to autism families like my own.
So what is Autism Village?
Autism Village is a free app that was designed to help families affected by autism. The app identifies autism friendly businesses, organizations and services by reading ratings and reviews, like that of a Tripadvisor app, on how autism friendly the business or organization is.
From the Autism Village website (found here):
There are a myriad of educational apps on the internet for parents of autistic children, but Autism Village is different. Autism Village is producing apps which are especially designed to be useful for managing life with autism and which are based on their community of autism “Villagers”.
Imagine for a moment that you deal with the never-ending problem that people with autism and their families face – where’s a good place to go which is safe and won’t over stimulate me or my autistic loved one. Places where people feel comfortable and can have FUN, and which are staffed by understanding and helpful people. Just have a look at the Autism Village app and you’ll quickly find nearby places rated and reviewed by others like yourself.
Topher Wurts, father of the proclaimed “founder” Kirby his autistic son, conceived the idea of Autism Village as an initiative to produce practical, useful, and helpful management tools and services for those living life on the autism spectrum. The goal? Improve the future for millions with autism.
I donated to Autism Village that day in hopes the app would become a reality.
And now I have the app on my phone.
In years that followed, this is the organization I recommend people donate to when they want to donate somewhere for autism. I find the app useful and practical.
And even if you do not want to donate, the app is there and ready to be downloaded for free. You are able to see what autism friendly establishments are near you or you can add a review.
I hope you find the app useful and don’t forget – spread the word!
We still have not seen a dentist😮 Ben is 9 and we tried once and had to leave the waiting room. An emergency exit, if you know what I mean?! We couldn’t find anyone to take his insurance that was “autism friendly”.
Thank you for this! I’m gonna download the app right now.
Oh no! Poor Ben. The app is relatively new so people need to input their reviews. I am also kind of lucky as I live somewhat close to the founder – so lots of info has been plugged in for places near me. Good luck! Hope you find someone!
What a great resource! I wish I had this information 10 yrs ago when my son was still living. I answered it on Facebook in hopes of helping others. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing it – the more people that know about this resource means more information put into the app to help individuals with autism and their families. Thank you!
Wow! So great!!
We got referred to a community dentist here in the uk who took on nervous and patients with additional needs. Our first visits were sitting in the chair, touching things etc. After six months Max sat in the chair and has his teeth checked no problem. The dentist did what was best for his patients, even one girl who would have her teeth examined only if she could sit under the desk, he’d get down with her. Some people go above and beyond
Wow, that’s great! I finally found a dentist that would see Declan – Declan wouldn’t sit in the chair and just hid in the corner. When the dentist came in, D started screaming. The denitist said he wasn’t going to get any closer to get D any more upset and could see well enough in his mouth to see there weren’t any large areas of concern. 3 visits later, D was more comfortable and had a regular visit in the chair. Patience paid off – some people are the best!
I visited a vet to have my cat examined while we were still living in CO. The cat held still only so long, then it jumped of the exam table and hid on the floor. My legs were starting to give out on me, so I got down on the floor with the cat. The animal ran to me, so I held on to it. The vet finished giving the cat his shots on the floor with me holding the animal still!
Talk about working with disabled people! We used that same vet until we left back in 2004. I miss places that work with me, as opposed to against me and my various diseases!
Some peopel are the best! That is great you had such a wonderful vet to work with you, your needs and your pets needs.
I have a cousin who has an autistic son. What a wonderful blessing the app must be. Why did I find myself resenting the pediatrician? God bless you all, precious family.
Thank you so much!
Wow what a great product idea!!!
thanks for the post! 🙂
I only really know it from my perspective as having what was once ‘low functioning’ autism, I still have autism now (you probably know, it can’t be cured or out grown, unfortunately perhaps for some people) but I have the deepest respect for the effort to go that extra effort for your son.
What a beautiful thing to do. Hopefully, the app will help your son and many more like him! Small advice my mother always gave me an apple in public to distract whenever I seemed overwhelmed.
Good luck & thanks for sharing your adventure.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing. I was late getting my son’s teeth checked because of this. We found someone great; so blessed.
Wonderful! So glad you found someone!
Wonderful post! I’ve been dreading taking the munchkin to the dentist. I will definitely check out this app!
Thank you for sharing this information