Make a Care Notebook

Piles of specialist's reports. Years of IEPs. Names of doctors and case managers. Records of therapies and tests and hospitalizations and procedures. You've got them all somewhere, stuffed in a file cabinet or piled in a storage box, but how quickly can you find them when you need them? One way to be more organized -- and feel more in control -- is to set up a care notebook for your child with special needs.

Start with all your reports and records. Slip each one into a clear page protector; this will make them easier to remove for copying when necessary, without having to pop the binder open or mess with punched holes. Group the pages behind tabs so you can find what you're looking for quickly, and arrange them in reverse chronological order, with most recent items toward the front.

Add forms for the information you need. The following sites offer downloadable forms that you can use to fill your care notebook with easy-to-access information about your child's medical history, including call logs and notes from appointments to fill out as you go along:
• Care Notebook
• My Child's Life Care Notebook and Organizer
• The Maine Health Care Notebook
• Child Health Status Assessment (automatically downloads pdf)

Where do you keep your child's records? Take our poll and join the discussion.