Many children with disabilities need to get their blood drawn regularly for lab work. While it’s never a fun task, it can be downright impossible for some kids. With the help of Undivided parents and Rachel Delano, MSW, LCSW, CCLS III, child life specialist at Baystate Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts, we’ve put together tips that will help parents and kids have a less stressful experience when getting their blood drawn.
Discuss how the appointment went. Having a discussion with your child about how the appointment went and how your child felt can help encourage calm, patient behavior for future blood draws.
Reward your child. After your child successfully completes the blood draw, reward them with verbal affirmations and the activity or item you talked about.
Be patient. Reconditioning any event is an ongoing process that will take time. You might go through all of these recommendations and still get unwanted behavior. This process should be repeated for every blood draw or routine event for months or years, and over time, the procedure will be conditionally known to be stress-free for your child.
For more information about what to do before, during, and after an appointment to minimize stress, see How to Have a Stress-Free Blood Draw.
