486: Transforming Lives: Treating Patients with Autism - Karen Raposa, RDH - a podcast by ACT Dental

Transforming Lives: Treating Patients with Autism

Episode #486 with Karen Raposa, RDH

Imagine having a toothache, but you're unable to communicate. In fact, you may have patients like this in your practice. Autism affects many children and adults — and you can have a positive impact on their dental experience. And to teach you how, Kirk Behrendt brings in Karen Raposa, author of Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disability, to explain the misconceptions about autism and ways to educate yourself and your team. Every person deserves great dental care! To start helping these patients today, listen to Episode 486 of the Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Karen’s website: http://www.karenraposa.com/
• Karen’s email: Karen@KarenRaposa.com 
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Main Takeaways:

Autism is not a monolith.

Educate yourself and your team about autism.

Become an advocate for patients with disabilities.

Everyone deserves compassionate, life-long dental care.

Get involved with organizations like AADMD to learn how to help.

Quotes:

“When it comes to autism, if you've met one person with autism, that's it — you've met one person with autism. So, there can be misconceptions that, ‘Oh, I just do the same thing for everybody, and it’s going to help everybody who has autism.’ But every individual with autism is entirely different.” (2:37—2:53)

“Unfortunately, a lot of [misconceptions about autism] is because of the media. What the media tends to show is people who are higher functioning with autism. Because there are people who maybe are not comfortable socially, but they're brilliant. They're savants, and they can play instruments amazingly, or they can go through life, when it comes to their education, very easily. But it’s a spectrum.” (3:36—3:59)

“People don't realize, ‘What does that mean, “spectrum”?’ Well, it means that some people with autism may be extremely intelligent, and some people may be severely impaired, intellectually. And socially, some people may be able to communicate well and get along with others, and other people may not have that ability at all. And some may need someone to care for them for their entire life, and other people may be very independent. And I think the misconception is that it’s just this one image that you might have in your mind. And most of the time, individuals like my son, you don't hear about on TV programs or in the news, unless something really bad happens.” (4:01—4:44)

“In general, most people go into dentistry because they want to help people. What tends to happen with the autism population is, most of the time, a dentist, a hygienist, an assistant, wants to help. They're just afraid they might do the wrong thing. And so, instead of trying something, very often, they choose not to help. And people with autism are human beings and deserve that valuable, life-long...

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