The physiotherapist's hands move toward the ankle before he has finished his sentence, and Gabriel pulls back: the card slipped into the prescription teaches the physiotherapist to announce every move
A card slipped into the prescription folder, scanned by the physiotherapist before the second session, and every move is announced before the hands land, instead of being discovered on contact.
This case is about Gabriel, 15, autistic, in rehabilitation after an ankle sprain. A touch he didn't see coming is distressing for him, a clear instruction reassures him. The card is prepared by his mother. It is addressed to the private-practice physiotherapist, who receives a teenager they don't know and has thirty minutes.
The moment as lived
Tuesday, 5:15 pm, physiotherapy practice near the station. On the table, Gabriel, 15, left ankle bandaged for ten days after a basketball game. The physiotherapist stands up, says "right, let's take a look" and is already reaching for the ankle. Gabriel folds his leg back, stares at the ceiling, stops answering. His mother, in the waiting room, hears the silence through the partition. The practitioner notes a withdrawn, uncooperative teenager, and the session stops after twelve minutes.
That evening, filing the prescription, the physiotherapist finds a card slipped into the folder. They scan it. They read that Gabriel understands everything, that a touch he didn't see coming makes him pull back, and that "let's take a look" tells him nothing. What works: the move said before it is made, the place, the duration, a sign to stop. What shuts him down: hands placed without warning and comments while he is silent.
On Thursday, the physiotherapist waits until Gabriel is seated. "I'm going to put my hand on the top of your foot, for three seconds. Give me a sign to stop." Gabriel watches the hand arrive and answers with a nod. The ankle mobilisation lasts twenty-five minutes. His mother didn't have to step into the room to explain, and Gabriel walks out having decided the duration of each move himself.
- You write it
- The QR is in place
- The reader scans
- Understood, without explaining again
Where to place the QR for this case
The private-practice physiotherapist sees the teenager for ten or fifteen sessions, often in a shared practice where colleagues cover for each other from one week to the next. The QR must be read before the first touch of the hands, and be visible to all the practitioners in the practice.
- Card bank-card size, slipped into the prescription folder with the reimbursement paperwork: it is the first paper the physiotherapist opens to create the file.
- Sticker stuck on the back of the care sheet handed in at reception, which the secretary or the practitioner handles before the session.
- Link sent by message to the practice when booking the appointment, so the physiotherapist reads it before welcoming the teenager.
- Card given to the locum who takes over the schedule during holidays, without going through a file.
To rule out: the sports bag left in the corridor, under the eyes of everyone waiting, and the bandaged ankle itself, which nobody should have to label. The profile is created in a few minutes on myHandiQR.
Pre-written text templates
These outlines are a starting point for filling in the profile sections. Rewrite them in your own words: the way your child signals that a touch is too much is a precious detail for a physiotherapist who doesn't know them.
For the "Introduction" section
"I am [first name]'s mother, he is 15. He is autistic. He understands everything he is told, but a touch he didn't see coming makes him pull back or freeze. It's not a refusal: his body reacts before he does. He comes for his ankle, the sessions will be regular."
For the "How to help" section
"Say the move before doing it, then the place, then the duration ("I'm putting my hand on the top of your foot, for three seconds"). Let him see the hand arrive. Agree on a sign to stop. One instruction at a time, no joking while you work."
For the "What to avoid" section
"Placing hands without warning, saying "let's take a look" without saying at what, commenting out loud while he is silent. Changing the order of the session without announcing it also shuts him down again."
Conditions concerned by this case
This case is first about autism with touch hypersensitivity. It also applies to people who are anxious about bodily care, with or without a recognised particularity.
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View the caseThis situation is something you should not have to replay with every new person.
Every new school year, every new substitute, every appointment: you have to start all over again. myHandiQR puts an end to that. You write it once. You will no longer start from scratch at every meeting.