At the clinic, Dougie stayed very close to Gwace while carrying his stuffed backpack full of comfort items. His AAC device hung from his shoulder, and he kept nervously chewing on one of his chew necklaces while rocking beside her in the waiting room.
Every few seconds he touched his swollen lip and whimpered.
"It still hurts really bad, huh?" Gwace asked softly.
Dougie nodded quickly and buried his face into his Cars blanket.
A nurse came over carefully after seeing how overwhelmed he looked. "Hi, Dougie. We're going to help you feel better today."
Dougie immediately hid behind Gwace.
"He's very scared," Gwace explained gently. "He's nonverbal and severely autistic, and today's been really hard for him."
The nurse nodded kindly and let him keep all his comfort items nearby instead of asking him to put them away. Soon they were brought into a quiet exam room with dimmer lights to help keep Dougie calm.
When Dr. Clyde entered, Dougie started crying again and pressed buttons rapidly on his AAC device: "Hurts." "Home." "No doctor." "Gwace stay."
"I'm staying right here," Gwace promised, sitting beside him on the exam bed and holding his hand.
Dr. Clyde spoke calmly. "Dougie, I'm just going to look at your lip first. I know it's scary."
Dougie trembled but allowed Gwace to wrap him tightly in his weighted blanket while the doctor examined the swollen area.
"Oh wow," Dr. Clyde said carefully. "That infection looks painful. No wonder he's been crying."
Dougie whimpered louder at the word infection.
"But we can help it," Dr. Clyde added quickly. "We'll numb the area first so it won't hurt as much."
Gwace helped distract him with his iPad and sensory toys while the nurse prepared supplies. Dougie squeezed his giant plush banana toy tightly and kicked his feet anxiously under the blanket.
When it was finally time, Gwace stayed close beside him the entire procedure, speaking softly while Dr. Clyde carefully drained the infection. Dougie cried some, but the numbing medicine helped, and eventually the pressure in his lip started going away.
"There," Dr. Clyde said after finishing. "That should start feeling much better soon."
Dougie slowly touched his lip in surprise. It was still sore, but not as painfully tight as before.
Gwace smiled proudly. "You did such a good job."
Dougie pressed another AAC button: "Home now."
Dr. Clyde laughed gently. "I think he's definitely ready for comfort time."
Before leaving, Gwace let Dougie choose a brand-new pair of Project SEARCH scrubs from a small bag she had brought for him along with a new sensory fidget. Wrapped in blankets and surrounded by comfort items, Dougie finally began calming down enough to rest his head on Gwace's shoulder for the ride home.
