Nader, and Craig (2008) found that the pain levels of children with ASD could be discerned from their facial activity when noted by observers. The use of nonverbal pain scales, such as the Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) scale and the revised FLACC scale, which incorporate a parent's description of individual behaviors, are recommended for children with cognitive impairments (Malviya, Voepel-Lewis, Burke, Merkel, & Tait, 2006).
The nurse should also ask the family what methods work best to soothe the patient at home. He or she should then incorporate those techniques into the hospital stay and ensure that hospital personnel caring for the child are aware of appropriate pain relief methods, as well as de-escalation techniques for periods of increased agitation (Giarelli & Gardner, 2012).