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CHEO has launched a specialized weekly community clinic that brings care and support closer to neurodiverse children and youth, and their families.
Hunter Nicholas, 13, lives with autism and has an extreme needle phobia. That means getting his annual vaccines has been traumatic.
His mom, Ananda, wanted a better solution, and she found it at a weekly clinic run by CHEO's Extensive Needs Service (ENS) in partnership with family physician, Dr. Nicole Shadbolt.
The clinic’s collaborative format provided more support, tools and understanding for kids like Hunter.
“For the first time ever, my son didn’t get upset when he got his shots,” said Ananda.
Hunter, who received three different immunizations, came home talking calmly about the experience and even smiled, saying the nurses were “nice.”
“After he had gone to bed, I had a little happy cry about it,” she added.
Ananda Nicholas says the process was smooth and reassuring, from pre-clinic phone calls through the post-immunization support.
This is just one example of how the ENS program at CHEO continues to transform challenging medical experiences.
Launched in April 2023, ENS provides care that addresses unique and complex health-care needs, including developmental, behavioural, and mental health. It is designed to reduce barriers that families can face navigating a complex health-care system, and provides access to timely, evidence-based and trauma-informed treatment for some of the most vulnerable children in Ontario.
As of September 2024, ENS services include this specialized CHEO clinic, which can provide a physical assessment, medication review and support, access to medical services, tests and treatment, as well as a clarification on diagnoses.
The clinic, which is also unique because of support from a Registered Behaviour Analyst, is aimed at patients who may have difficulty accessing medical care in traditional ways because of challenging behaviours or complex needs.
Other services include examining any medical reasons for certain behaviours, the ability to diagnose and assess medical conditions for kids with complex neurodevelopmental disorders and/or mental health conditions that need ENS wrap-around care, immunizations, and ordering medical interventions like blood work or medical imaging.
Over the past several months, the clinic has become an additional, but important, resource for families whose children and youth receive ongoing care from CHEO’s Neurodevelopmental Health team.
CHEO hopes to add more clinic days with a nurse practitioner to provide care to more kids and continues to welcome feedback from families to help shape the clinic’s evolution.
For more information on ENS at CHEO, please visit our website.