“If you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one individual with autism” Stephen Shore
This is my story. This is one of the many late night dental office trips I took with my son. It’s after hours. It’s quiet. It’s empty. This trip, we just sat in the chair. We held sunglasses. We took turns moving the chair up and down. That was enough. That’s where he was at and I met him there.
I’m so thankful to be a dental hygienist, that I had dental office access after hours and a kind boss who understood that was what we needed to succeed.
Going during the day meant a crowded clinic, coworkers clamouring to say hello to cute little him and lots of whizzing sounds. It was overwhelming for him to say the least.
My sweet Simon is Autistic. While new experiences are difficult for everyone he needs a slow, respectful and steady pace. It took time, and patience. He’s 11 now, and pretty comfortable in the dental setting. We’ve worked through so much together to get where he is today. He’s taught me to look for solutions, think outside the box and find options for him that work.
I am thankful to be in a position now where I can offer something to other families in the autism community. Together with rock star dental hygienist, Anitka at Floss Bosses Dental Hygiene Clinic, we are dedicating 1 day per month to Autism. We will be welcoming children with autism to have a day where the clinic becomes their new and secure adventure.
By providing a safe dental environment, we would like to help kids with sensory processing disorder and autism become comfortable in the dental office. Our clinic is quiet. Our approach is respectful, gentle. Our aim is care modified and molded toward you and your child, where you are at, to move to a brighter oral health future together.
We are a quiet dental hygiene clinic (no drilling).
We are preventative oral health care professionals and we want to help.
Kindly,
Merry Yoon BS, RDH, BA
