Adolescent Test or Procedure Preparation

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During the procedure

If the procedure is performed at the hospital or your health care provider's office, you will most likely be given the opportunity to be present. Your child may or may not desire your presence, and it is best to honor his or her wishes.

If you are not asked by the health care provider to be by your child's side and would like to be, ask if this is possible and ask your child if he or she would mind your presence. Out of respect for your child's growing need for privacy, do not allow peers or siblings to view the procedure unless he or she wants them to be present.

Other considerations:

• Ask your health care provider to limit the number of strangers entering and
  leaving the room during the procedure, since this can raise anxiety.
• Ask that the care provider who has spent the most time with your child be
  present during the procedure.
• Ask that anesthetics be used where appropriate to reduce the level of
  discomfort for your child.
• Your adolescent may have difficulty with a new authority figure entering his
  or her life (the health care provider). This complication can be minimized if a
  familiar health care provider performs the test. Otherwise, your child may offer some resistance to the procedures. Prepare the teen in advance for the possibility that the test will be performed by someone unfamiliar if this is likely to happen.