Date published: 15 March 2022
Tips for all appointment types
- Give plenty of notice for the appointment
- Inform the patient what is expected of them during the meeting and if they need to prepare anything in advance
- Ask the patient if they need any reasonable adjustments such as the formatting of papers or slides, easy read, audio or film versions of handouts or paper work printed on coloured paper
- Share essential reading well in advance of meetings highlighting important parts
- Give instructions one at a time, slowly and clearly without distractions
- The if there is more than one person at the appointment make sure that only one person talks at a time as someone who is Neurodiverse can find it harder to recall their point when interpreted and will also find dealing with lots of people taking at once more challenging
- Avoid interrupting a person who is writing, allow the person to pause and write down what they need to before asking your question or changing topics
- Ensure there is the opportunity to ask questions after the appointment
In person appointments
- Make sure there is a quiet space available for the appointment away from distractions such as doors, phones, or loud machinery
- Think about room set up, don’t block the exit, make it easy for people to leave if they need to
- Allow patients the choice of standing or sitting during meetings
Virtual appointments
- Avoid the use of distracting backgrounds
- Ask the patient to turn on the audio cancelling function in teams or stay on mute to reduce any distracting background noise
- Make sure the close caption (subtitles) option is available
- Ensure that if there are any comments in the chat function are read out verbally