Through My Eyes: A Video Preparation Tool for Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Child life specialists work in a health care setting work alongside patients and families to provide coping strategies, preparation, education, and comfort to promote well-being and reduce fear and anxiety in the health care environment. They also serve as advocates for children's developmental needs, specifically in terms of their reactions to stress, and support the active involvement of families in the child's care. In this work, development of fear, coping, and medical preparation are reviewed. In order to further the mission of family-centered care, all types of patient populations must be studied. This reviews children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in order to explore their needs and how they best interpret information. With this in mind, a proposed tool, video modeling is introduced as a way to prepare children, increase their coping skills, and reduce fear and anxiety related to the medical environment.