Thank you for your input. I can only speak from the experience I have had in my training in the area of the country I work in.
Awareness of ASD and Aspergers...
During our training (to become a registered sick children's nurse) we receive a great deal of input and undertake placements with both children and adults with learning disabilities and there is not one person who does not come into contact with children with ASD/Aspergers. Many of us take this even further and apply to do elective placements and undertake further study in the same area. Nurse training is recognising more and more the need to have a good solid knowledge and understanding in this area, and the University I studied at particularly received a good deal of praise for it's decision to do this in out training and it is hoped outher places will follow suit. Unfortunately, it seems some of the "old school" nurses are oblivious and as a result don't be surprised if a student nurse is ever looking after your child. Don't be disappointed or upset by this though - they are probably in better hands with them than a trained member of staff who hasn't a clue what to do! If your child has a care plan of any sorts or a protocol for school, ICP, whatever, it is always of help to us if that can be provided for us to gather more information as we do understand that every child with ASD/Aspergers is different.
The use of PECS and images.
Mostly, a lot of the parents/carers bring in their own PECS or symbols to use, however I recognise that they could still be put into place in the hospital in key areas. I shall be looking into this further I think and seeing if I can do anything about this where I am.
Quiet/Private rooms
Again, I can only speak for where I work. Although the hospital I work in is a dedicated children's hospital, it is a very old building, which is short of space and workable facilities. A new hospital is due to be built in the coming years and we have been consulted as to what we would like in addition to what we currently have and one of the things mentioned was a quiet room (Primarily used for giving bad news etc but could be multi-purpose) We currently have 3 cubicles and 3 bays. The cubicles are more private and the doors can be shut and lights turned off etc if required, and I would imagine that wherever possible a child with any hypersensitivity to sound/light etc would take priority when allocating spaces at triage. In a general hospital I can see this not being a reality, as they tend to just have curtained off bays and have little understanding about paediatrics.
