"Vaccination of learning disabled son"

My son is 20 and is autistic with severe learning disability. He is terrified of needles and has not coped with vaccination by injection of any kind since he was a baby. I want him to be as well protected from infection as his non-disabled peers so arranged for the recommended immunisations for young people to be administered while he was under general anaesthetic for another matter. He has always received the nasal spray version of the flu vaccination.

We started the discussion with him as soon as we heard that vaccinations for Covid were being issued. We knew he would need this and that the only way he could get it was via injection. He was utterly thrown at first. But we found social stories and kept talking and reassuring him. It helped that his Grandparents and other family members who work in health care had received it and were able to reassure him that it was just a tiny bit painful. Eventually, he agreed that he would go for it. He knew that he and others needed to be vaccinated before he could go back to the cinema (his favourite thing) and visit his grandparents and friends. 

Our GP practice, Hill medical Centre in Dunmurry, contacted me last week to offer him a slot at a mop-up clinic. I had already discussed his needle phobia with the practice. I told my son and he was scared that it was actually going to happen but determined to be brave. We were told that the practice nurse might be able to come out to the carpark and administer his injection while he sat in the car. So we arrived, I called reception and let them know we were there. Ryan was scared and tearful but he wasn't panicking. The nurse came out, said hello and asked him a question- before he'd had time to answer she had popped the needle into his arm and it was over before he knew it had started. He was surprised at how little it hurt and super proud of himself for managing it. The nurse told him he'd been the best person she'd injected all day and he was delighted. It was all made possible because the nurse was skilled, empathetic to his needs and calm. She understood how terrified he was but put him at ease.

The life expectancy of men like my son with a learning disability is 14 years shorter than for men in the general population. I hope that he has a long, healthy life and always gets the care and any medical treatment he needs and deserves. As this experience was a good one, he's far more like to stay well and cope with medical tests and treatments all his life.