Anyone have experience of general anaesthetic for child with asd

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Ds aged 16 needs dental treatment under GA. I am v nervous about the whole thing as he is very severely autistic and has quite challenging behaviour. Does anyone have any tips or reassuring stories?

Thank you. I was planning to be on my own but I think I will rearrange the date so we can have both of us there with him. Was your ds ok by the next day?

Hi DD (8) has had two lots of teeth taken out under GA, and although she's only now going for assessment for ASD, the whole process was fine. We took things along with us to keep her occupied as much as possible - beforehand she was very happy on both occasions although had problems applying cream to arms for the injection sites for the anaesthetic needles, when it came to actually getting the needles in, the second time round, they made a game of it for DD as she was getting stressed slightly and the anaesthetist managed it in 11 seconds! Coming round from the anaesthetic was the worst part - she was groggy, had blood and stitches in her mouth so wasn't best pleased. The icecream, jelly and yoghurt soon cheered her up, and we weren't pressured to leave at all - only when we felt she was up to it, and they were happy that she'd eaten and drank well.
They recommend soft mushy food for the next couple of days, so if possible get in some foods that fit the bill, or you end up having to go to the shop to get some on the day!

Everyone reacts differently do anaesthetics, so obviously your experiences may differ!

DD was back to her usual self the next day, complaining about the fact that she couldn't have normal food!

Ds has had a number of GAs. I always make sure I contact them in advance to explain things. Generally day procedures are done by age unless there is other needs so it may be worth mentioning that side to see if he can be near the top of the list.

We have always had the option of somewhere quiet pre and post op too which has been useful for him.

Hi, is your son stopping in a hospital overnight?
My son had general a month ago, not for dental though it was for reattatchment of n ailbeds and fingertips (special needs child care facilitator but there's another story). Hospital warned about his violent reaction regarding needles (lots of blood tests) as We are banned from one local hospital as not specialised enough, he was reacting to the numbing cream like we had tortured him.
We had a curtained off cubicle he was given a sedative which was amazing it acted so quickly-happy, smiley boy and zonk within a couple of mins... he was wheeled up and given a general (they said maybe gas and air but the premed was enough ) on return we were put in a private room just in case he reacted on waking up and they left the side bars padding on so couldnt hurt himself if he started thrashing around. with more nurses popping in i think- unless hyper vigilant. They were brilliant, I cannot praise the hospital enough tbh.
Take in DVDs or I pad if you have time plus familiar things as prev poster said.
Good luck x

DS(12) has had 2 in the past 12 months at Sheffield Children's Hospital. He hates hospitals and is very volatile when stressed and anxious. Both times he has had Midazolam as a pre-med and it has been brilliant. It's made him sleepy enough to only put up a half hearted fight in the anaesthetic room.
After the 1st GA he was very distressed and shouting and swearing so I took him home as soon as I could.
After the 2nd GA the staff put us in a side room away from the noise of the other kids and DS came round fine and was relaxed.

Fair game: Medazolam!! Thank you-I was wracking my brains trying to remember the name of it when putting my post up. that was the premed my son had and it was amazing. I think like you, the side room helps as well as there is less noise and distraction-when my boy was in his cubicle he was quite stressed out which means you learn to duck quickly whilst apologizing profusely to everybody within eye contact. We were at Portsmouth QA and they were amazing with him.

Thank you so much. I am going to ring in advance to check out the arrangements. I have already discussed pre med with dentist so will also reiterate this with them. Have managed to get him first on the list which should help with anxiety or waiting around. Think I will need a large drink when it is all over!