I Know What To Expect At Appointments Kit
£19.50
Tom hated his hair being cut.
His sensory issues meant that he found the unfamiliar sounds, smells and close proximity of strangers at the hairdressers overwhelming making him anxious and distressed. Trips to the doctors and dentists were equally challenging for him.
Using pictures to explain what was going to happen at the appointments made these visits more bearable for everyone. Seeing what was going to happen helped him to understand what he could expect and removed his fear of the unexpected leading to less anxiety and meltdowns.
We created this kit to help other families like us who want to reduce their child’s anxiety about attending important appointments and to help develop their child’s coping strategies once they are there.
With the At Appointments kit you can quickly and easily create personalised visual timelines and reminders to help your child prepare for and understand their visits to doctors, dentists, medical appointments and the hairdressers so , like Tom, they can say , ‘I know what to expect at my appointment ‘ too!
Key benefits
- Creating a visual timeline helps reduce your child’s anxiety about what to expect at their appointment
- Showing your child before their appointment potential sensory triggers and issues helps reduce their anxiety and meltdowns
- Communicating to your child before their go to their appointment what’s going to happen gives them time to ask any questions or share any worries they may have
- Portable and durable means you can take them with you to reassure your child what to expect whilst you’re there
- Quickly and easily adapt your timeline when something different is going to happen
Kit contents
- 3 TomTag Button Holders ( please specify your colour preferences in the notes section at checkout)
- 25 blank buttons to give you the flexibility to create multiple timelines
- 1 attachment loop to fasten TomTag to a hook, belt or bag
- Easy to follow instruction sheet to assemble your TomTag
- Haircuts & Health Checks sticker pack which contains
- 72 different symbol stickers (2 copies of each) for:
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- Medical: doctor, nurse, hospital, doctor’s surgery, doctor’s bed, lie down, sit on chair, check pulse, blood test, check blood pressure, take temperature, get weighed, measure height, look in ear, listen to chest, take big breath, feel unwell, hearing test
- Hair: hairdresser, barber, gown, sink, wash hair, towel, comb hair, cut hair (male/female), dry hair
- Teeth & eyes: dentist, toothache, teeth, brush teeth, dentist’s mirror, tooth decay, filling, open mouth wide, plaque, dentist’s tools, take tooth out, dentist’s chair, floss teeth, braces, gargle/rinse, optician, look, look in eyes, eye test, eye drops
- Therapy: OT (x2), therapist, therapy room, speech therapist, speech therapy, physiotherapist, physiotherapy, consultant
- General: waiting room, examination room, reception, x-ray, feel, touch, press, put cream on, take medicine, needle, injection, plaster, bandage, well done
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- 12 blank round stickers for personalisation
- 8 blank rectangular stickers to label your TomTag Button Holders
Click the images to enlarge and view the gallery
Dimensions
- TomTag Button Holder:18cm x 3cm
- Buttons: 2cm diameter
The TomTag I Know What To Expect Range
With this range, it’s quick and easy to make personalised visual timelines, schedules and reminders which can be used anywhere in the home, at school, in care settings or when out and about.
TomTag visual supports can provide structure and guidance to the day or week ahead, helping to lessen anxieties and mange expectations about what is going to happen. This can lead to improvements in behaviour, communication and encourage personal responsibility and independence.
These are truly versatile visual supports. Use the tags singly to highlight sections of the day or particular events.Work towards using just one tag to cover a whole routine or time of day.
TomTag is easy to clean and keep hygienic. TomTag’s plastic button holders and blank buttons can be washed in warm water and a little hand soap should they become dirty and dried with a soft cloth. The stickers are highly water resistant. Simply wipe over with a wet cloth or anti-bacterial wipe.
How does TomTag work?
TomTag uses symbols to show a series of separate tasks or steps involved in a task that are part of a routine, a sequence of events in a timeline or they can be used as a list to teach a new skill by breaking down a single activity into smaller steps.
Many children with autism and other additional needs have strong visual skills. They are more likely to remember and understand what they have seen rather than what they hear. Using a visual support like TomTag to present information visually and in a step-by-step manner allows visual thinkers and learners to take in information at their own pace. Visuals can also act as a reminder when children forget what’s been said or become distracted, TomTag helps to bring their attention back to the task or current situation.
Our Customers say
“Tom-tags communications I use these for routines/transitions, appointments and communicating with people when I don’t have a device or don’t have the words to say what I need/want.
They’re helpful especially for appointments as I have a visual to know what to expect and what will happen before and during the appointments.”
WARNING: Please note – TomTag is not a toy. Not suitable for children under 36 months due to small parts.
