Dentists, haircuts and doctors: making appointments easier

How can I prepare my child for an appointment?

Knowing what will happen makes a visit more predictable. The NHS notes that autistic children may need help to cope with health appointments, "such as with a doctor, dentist or optician", and says your GP or local autism team can advise. Start a few days ahead, when your child is calm.

1. Show photos of the place and people. An NHS trust suggests "Visits or virtual tours" and "Written and / or pictorial information detailing what to expect" (Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust). Look on the service's website, or ask if you can visit first.
2. Make a short picture story. Four to six pages is enough: getting there, the waiting room, the room and chair, what the dentist, doctor or nurse will do, and going home. In a social narrative like this, describe what will happen rather than telling your child how to behave. Read it together a few times before the day.
3. Practise at home. Take turns being the dentist with a torch and a mirror, count teeth, or play doctors with a toy kit. GOV.UK guidance on vaccinations suggests "social stories and role play" to help children prepare, and the National Autistic Society says seeing a new place or practising the route before a visit can help.
4. Use a visual schedule for the day. A Now and Next board or a short picture list works well, for example: car, waiting room, dentist, park. Put something your child enjoys straight afterwards. See our guide to Now and Next boards.
5. Pack a calm kit. The NHS trust suggests ear defenders or noise-cancelling headphones, something with a pleasant, familiar smell, and comfort items. GOV.UK's vaccination guidance also suggests bringing a favourite toy.
6. Plan the wait. If the waiting room is hard, ask whether you can wait outside or in the car until you are called.

What reasonable adjustments can I ask for?

You can ask any service to change how it does things so your child is not put at a disadvantage. Under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, service providers must make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a "substantial disadvantage". This can mean changing a practice, dealing with physical features, and providing extra aids, including information "in an accessible format". A disabled person cannot be required "to pay to any extent" for them. Under Schedule 2, the duty is anticipatory, so services should plan ahead for disabled people, although they do not have to change the basic nature of their service.

Disability here means a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term effect on normal daily activities (NHS England), and many autistic children are likely to meet this definition. The Act covers England, Scotland and Wales; only a few of its sections apply in Northern Ireland (section 217).

Most of these examples come from the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, which suggests time flexibility, separate waiting areas and familiar staff; the NHS, whose examples include pictures, simpler words and longer appointments; and GOV.UK's vaccination guidance.

What is the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag?

The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag is "a national, visible marker on a person's record, which indicates any reasonable adjustments needed by a person with a disability whenever and wherever they are seen or treated by any publicly-funded health and social care service" (NHS England). Under an information standard published in December 2025, all NHS and publicly funded health and social care services in England must be able to share, read and add to the flag by 30 September 2026.

The flag can include details of significant impairments, key adjustments and underlying conditions. It is shared under "implied consent", and you can object to the information being shared at any time (NHS England action checklist). The checklist uses the Equality Act definition of disability, with a long-term effect meaning more than 12 months.

NHS England's pages are written for services and do not set out how families should ask for a flag. In practice, start with your GP practice: ask them to record your child's needs and reasonable adjustments, and whether these are on the flag. When you book with a new service, ask whether they can see it, and repeat the key adjustments anyway.

What is a hospital passport or one-page profile?

A hospital passport is a short document that tells staff how your child communicates and what helps. The National Autistic Society's My Health Passport is free to download and designed for autistic people who might need hospital treatment. It suggests taking it whenever you visit hospital, showing it to doctors, nurses and other staff, and asking for it to be kept with your child's notes during an overnight stay.

The Leicestershire trust suggests including communication needs, how your child shows pain, what causes distress, sensory needs and what calms them, and updating it after appointments. For shorter visits, a one-page profile does a similar job: our one-page profile printable is ready to fill in. Share it with school too, because GOV.UK guidance suggests asking school to pass health passports and adjustments on to the vaccination team.

How can I make tooth brushing and the dentist easier?

Tooth brushing and dental visits involve taste, touch, noise and bright light, so small sensory changes can help.

Tooth brushing at home

The Leicestershire trust's dental advice for autistic people suggests:

• a flavourless or low-foaming toothpaste, or brushing with water first and then applying fluoride toothpaste around the teeth
• a small-headed manual brush with soft bristles, or a U-shaped or three-sided brush, because an electric toothbrush can be distressing due to its noise, vibration and speed
• brushing twice a day for 2 minutes
• spitting out but not rinsing afterwards, so the fluoride stays on the teeth.

Ask your dentist which toothpaste strength, and how much, suits your child's age. A picture sequence and a sand timer can show your child what happens and when brushing ends. Some children cope better if they hold the brush first, or brush alongside you.

At the dentist

The NHS says people with additional needs "should be able to get NHS dental care from a general dental practice", and that a dentist may refer someone who needs specialised treatment to Special Care Dentistry. The Leicestershire trust says children "who cannot be managed by a General Dental Practitioner" can be referred to Community Dental Services "by any health care professional (such as a GP)".

If a check-up is not possible, ask your dentist or GP about a referral. A few short, easy visits first, just to sit in the chair or count teeth, can help your child get used to the place.

What about vaccinations and blood tests?

GOV.UK guidance published on 7 August 2026 says school-age children with special educational needs and disabilities can have extra support and reasonable adjustments for vaccinations. Its examples include flexible timings and longer slots, an appointment at the beginning or end of a clinic, a quiet or low-sensory space before and after, having a parent with them, and the nasal spray flu vaccine for most children.

Contact your GP practice or School Aged Immunisation Team beforehand to talk through your child's needs, and share any care plan or health passport with school. Numbing creams are not offered in school vaccination clinics, but the guidance says this can be discussed with your GP, paediatrician or specialist team.

We found no specific guidance on blood tests for autistic children. The duty to make reasonable adjustments still applies, so ask for the same kinds of changes when you book, and ask the GP beforehand what could make the needle less painful.

How can I make haircuts easier?

We found no UK research or official guidance on haircuts for autistic children, so these are practical ideas based on sensory needs. The National Autistic Society lists unexpected touch, unexpected noises and electrical humming among common sensory triggers, and a haircut can involve all three.

• Try cutting at home, a little at a time, somewhere your child feels safe, such as in front of a favourite programme.
• Choose scissors over clippers if the buzz and vibration are a problem, or let your child hold the clippers switched off, then on, before they touch their hair.
• Warn before each touch and count down: "Three more snips, then finished."
• Deal with itchy hair: a soft towel instead of a cape, an old top to change straight afterwards, and a soft brush for loose hairs.
• Use a picture sequence with a clear "finished" point, and plan something nice afterwards.
• Try ear defenders for the noise. The National Autistic Society cautions that using them a lot "may increase sensitivity over time", though its page gives no research for this.
• At a salon or barber, ask for a quiet time, the same person each time, a seat away from dryers, and breaks. Hairdressers provide a service, so the same duty to make reasonable adjustments applies to them (Equality Act 2010, Schedule 2).

What if an appointment goes badly?

It is OK to stop, unless treatment is urgent. A check-up can be rebooked, and your child's trust matters more than finishing today. If treatment is urgent, ask the clinician what other options there are.

1. Give your child quiet time to recover. Our guide to meltdowns and shutdowns has ideas.
2. Check what happens next before you leave. The Leicestershire trust says staff should clarify "What has been decided and agreed; What will happen next and when".
3. Write down what upset your child and what helped, and add it to their health passport or profile.
4. Ask for different adjustments next time, such as a shorter visit, a practice visit or a quieter room.
5. Speak to the practice manager if a service refused a reasonable adjustment.

For more help, your GP or local autism team can advise on support for appointments (NHS), and the National Autistic Society has free resources, including its health passport. For days out and travel, see our guide to days out and holidays.