What to Expect During Your Radiology Appointment | Connecticut Children's

To help your child prepare for his/her visit, we have created special picture stories that can teach your child what to expect.

This story is part of a series of stories originally developed in collaboration with Norah Johnson, of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and funded through a grant by Autism Speaks.

Anchor ID #ctscan

What to Expect - CT Scan

Download the PDF here.

radiology ct scan machine (older version) — I am going to Connecticut Children’s to have a CT Scan. A CT Scan is a special machine that takes a picture of the inside of my body.

Frontage Photo of CC Medical Center — We will leave our car with the valet or in the parking garage.

patient checking in at welcome desk — First, we will go to the front desk. We will get stickers with our names to put on our clothes.

zoomed in picture of patient's visitor's label — I will put the sticker on my shirt. My family will get a sticker too!

radiology signage — We will walk down the hall to Radiology (1J).

Patient and Mom at Radiology Registration — We are at Radiology! We will go to the check-in window. The receptionist will talk with my family and type information into the computer.

patient receiving bracelet 2 — The receptionist will give me a bracelet to put on my wrist. The bracelet will have my name.

waiting area — I will wait in the waiting room. I can play or watch TV while I am waiting.

physician with patient — The Radiology technologist will call my name. He will look at my bracelet and then bring me to the room. My family will go with me.

physician introducing MRI machine to patient — The room has a table and a big machine to take the picture.

patient robes — The technologist will tell me what to do. I may need to change clothes for my CT Scan. This is okay. I will put my clothes back on when I am done. I will do my best to follow directions.

patient getting ready to go under MRI — I need to lie on the table for my CT Scan. The technologist may put a heavy blanket on me. This is okay. It will feel like a heavy blanket. I will do my best to follow directions.

Patient going under MRI up close — The table will move me into the big machine. The machine will not touch me. I will not feel them taking my picture. I need to stay very still.

physician and child giving each other a high five after MRI scan — The technologist will tell us when the CT Scan is done.

Mom and patient getting ready to go home — Getting a CT Scan is not so hard, I know just what to do!

Anchor ID #mri

What to Expect - MRI

Download the PDF here.

MRI — I am going to Connecticut Children’s to have an MRI. An MRI is a special machine that takes pictures of the inside of my body.

Frontage Photo of CC Medical Center — We will leave our car with the valet or in the parking garage.

patient checking in at welcome desk — First, we will go to the front desk. We will get stickers with our names to put on our clothes.

radiology signage — We need to go to Radiology (1J) for my MRI.

patient at registration desk with parent — We are at Radiology! We will go to the check-in window. The receptionist will talk with my family and type information into the computer.

patient getting his bracelet — Next, the receptionist will give me a bracelet to put on my wrist. The bracelet will have my name on it!

waiting area — I will sit in the waiting room. I can play or watch TV while I wait.

nurse welcoming patient — The MRI technologist will call my name. She will look at my bracelet and then bring me to the room. My family will go with me.

MRI — The room has a big machine in it. I will go inside of the machine so it can take pictures of me.

nurse showing patient his scrub — The technologist will tell me what to do. I may need to change my clothes for my MRI because no snaps or zippers are allowed. This is okay. I will put my clothes back on when I am done.

Locker — I will put my clothes in a special locker so that they will be safe.

patient getting screened for any metals before imaging — The technologist will use a special wand to make sure that my mom and I aren’t wearing any metal. The wand will not touch me.

patient lying on table — I will need to lie on the table.

MRI SCAN — Sometimes the technologist will strap me in so that I am safe.

movie screen inside mri — Sometimes I can listen to music or watch a video while they take the pictures. If I am allowed to do this, the technologist will ask me to choose.

patient with juice — The technologist will tell me if I need to take medicine for my MRI. I will do my best to follow directions.

Patient lying down inside MRI machine — The table will move me into the big machine. The machine will not touch me. I will not feel them taking my picture. I need to stay very still.

Patient finished with mri — I will stay in the machine while the pictures are being taken. I will hear loud noises. This is okay. The tech will talk to me through the headphones to ask if I am okay. When the MRI is done, the table will move me out of the machine.

Locker — Now I will put my clothes back on.

patient leaving to go home — Getting an MRI is not so hard, I know just what to do!

Anchor ID #ultrasound

What to Expect - Ultrasound

Download the PDF here.

US machine — I am going to Connecticut Children’s to have a CT Scan. A CT Scan is a special machine that takes a picture of the inside of my body.

radiology signage — We need to go to Radiology (1J) for my ultrasound.

Patient and Mom at Radiology Registration — We are at Radiology! We will go to the check-in window. The receptionist will talk with my family and type information in the computer.

patient receiving bracelet 2 — She will give me a bracelet to put on my wrist. The bracelet will have my name!

waiting area — I will wait in the waiting room. I can play or watch TV while I am waiting.

nurse welcoming patient — The ultrasound technologist will call my name. She will look at my bracelet and then bring me to the room. My family will go with me.

photo of medical office — The room has a bed and a machine to take the pictures.

patient lying down — The technologist will tell me what I need to do. I need to lay on the bed for my ultrasound. I will do my best to follow directions.

ultrasound equipment — The technologist will put gel on a special camera called a transducer. I can touch it if I want to. It will feel wet and a little cold.

patient laughing as he gets ultrasound — The technologist will put the transducer on my body. I need to stay very still. The gel will feel wet.

patient child getting ultrasound — The technologist will move the transducer on my body to take the picture. I can watch the screen to see the picture.

towel — When the ultrasound is done the technologist will wipe the gel off of my body.

patient receiving sticker — I can get a sticker when I am done. Getting an ultrasound is not so hard, I know just what to do!

Anchor ID #swallowstudy

What to Expect: Swallow Study

Download the PDF here.

chair — Today I am going to Connecticut Children’s for a swallow study. It will show how I eat and swallow.

favorite food items — I will bring my favorite cup(s) and food.

Frontage Photo of CC Medical Center — We will leave our car with the valet or in the parking garage.

patient checking in at welcome desk — First, we will go to the front desk. We will get stickers with our names to put on our clothes.

zoomed in picture of patient's visitor's label — I will put the sticker on my shirt. My family will get a sticker too!

radiology signage — We will walk down the hall to Radiology (1J).

Patient and Mom at Radiology Registration — We are at Radiology! We will go to the check-in window. The receptionist will talk with my family and type information in the computer!

waiting area — I will sit in the waiting room with my family. I can watch TV or play.

nurse calling patient — A speech therapist will call my name.

chair — We will walk into the room and sit down. The room will have a chair, a table, and a big machine to take my video.

nurse with patient in room — The speech therapist will ask my family questions about me.

clinician putting on gloves — The speech therapist will put on gloves. This will help keep me safe.

patient and caregiver sticking tongue out while in chair — The speech therapist may ask me to open my mouth and do silly things with my tongue.

nurse examining patient — The speech therapist may need to touch my tongue or cheeks.

Patient Smiling — The therapist will ask me to sit in a special chair. They may put a special blanket on my lap.

speech therapist with radiology coat — The speech therapist will put on a special coat. My family will wear one too.

doctor moving special machine — The doctor will move the special machine to make sure they take a good picture of me. The machine will make a noise when it is moved, but it will not touch me.

xray image — The doctor will press a button to turn on my video. This will also make a noise. My picture will be on TV!

patient sipping on drink — The speech therapist will give me something to drink. It is white and it will taste sweet. I will drink the special drink while they take my picture.

cracker — The speech therapist may ask me to try some pudding. I may also have my favorite snack dipped in some of the pudding.

nurse showing patient movie — My swallow test is finished! The speech therapist will show me and my family my movie on TV. The speech therapist will give my family a special paper that tells them “tools” I can use to help me swallow and eat better.

Mom and patient getting ready to go home — Now it is time to go. Getting a swallow study is not so hard, I know just what to do!