As an individual, my approach would be dependent on the situation I find myself in with the person with autism. If they were already known to me and I often liaised with the family, I would hopefully be more attuned to changes and possible health-related causes. If the person was unknown to me I would try to gauge any differences in the behaviour the family or carers (if present or required) may have noticed, alongside attempting to communicate with the person. Situations can be planned or instant in healthcare, if planned I could look into notes and see history and treatment preferences and who could be there for supporting both me and the person, if unplanned it would be more of an adaption as we go along. Autism is a wide spectrum and I would be aware of this and treat each person as an individual how they present to me at that time, effective communication is most likely key, both verbally and non-verbally from both parties. For example, Finlay hitting the area that was causing pain was an obvious action to explore, however, my and Finlay’s immediate and long-term safety should be at the forefront of my mind. With all patients, not just people with learning disabilities, I feel nurses need to recognise individualism and that situations are fluid and be prepared as much as possible for a change in direction.
