Abstract:

The children with autism are diagnosed with impairments in social communication and interaction and the occurrence of repetitive behaviors. In addition, they display a higher incidence of comorbidities that often require professional evaluation by a physician or specialist. These evaluations may be associated with problem behaviors that occur as a result of difficulties in communication, receiving and processing sensory stimuli, or accepting changes in daily routines. In some cases, parents of children with autism may avoid certain treatments if they know that he or she will be uncooperative. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the experiences of parents of children with autism undergoing medical examinations and to propose recommendations for practice based on the results and theoretical knowledge on the subject. Preliminary results of the questionnaire survey show that as many as 88 % of parents of children with autism who participated in the survey reported that their children had difficulty cooperating during the examination at the pediatrician's office. Concurrently, 52 % of parents reported that their child was uncooperative during the dental examination. The paper also highlights the need for intensive training of medical examinations of children with autism in the educational process, thus creating opportunities for further research and development of methodological recommendations.

Keywords:

Autism, parents, medical examination, problem behavior.