Care Notebook

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Make a Care Notebook for yourself or your child

What is a Care Notebook? The Care Notebook is a simple tool to help parents of children with special needs organize and keep track of information related to their child. The Care Notebook is a three-ring binder with dividers and organizers that will enable parents to have all pertinent information in one location. A Care Notebook is:

a drawing of a notebook
  • A planning tool
  • Everything in one place
  • Information at your fingertips
  • Portable (take to school meeting, doctors appointments, etc…)
  • Not having to dig through a stack of papers or a box for paperwork
  • Helping you to be a better advocate for your child
  • Personalized to best meet your needs

There are several examples of Care Notebooks (on the Web at http://www.medicalhomeinfo.org/tools/care_notebook.html) including one developed by the Joshua Project in Vermont. When creating the Vermont Family Network Care Notebook, the materials we saw from all of these sources inspired us.

Where do you get a Care Notebook?

Parents can purchase the necessary components of a Care Notebook themselves at any office supply store or can contact VFN for a starter Care Notebook packet.

Please contact BettyMorse at Vermont Family Network at 1-800-800-4005 ext. 201 for more information or to place an order.

The first links below are Microsoft Word documents, the second links are printable PDF documents.

All About Me  Name \ Birthday-age \ Family & pets \ Favorite things \ Upsets me \ Calms me printable All About Me 
Allergies, Meds & Labs  charts for: Allergies \ Medications \ Labs \ Nutrition printable Allergies, Meds & Labs 
Baby Story  Room for picture \ Date, weight, length etc \ Birth history \ Milestones Favorites; food, toys, books, friends \ Feeding history \ Growth & development record printable Baby Story
Basic Notebook  Name, dob, ssn, blood, allergies, physician \ Family; parent, guardian, emergency contact info, siblings \ Medical/dental; lists \ Therapists; PT, OT, speech, others \ Family support resources \ Personal support contact info \ Professional support resources \ Early Intervention service contacts \ School contacts printable Basic Notebook
Hospital, Doctors, & Services Hospitalizations \ Surgeries/procedures \ Physicians \ Support services \ School & community services \ Supplies/Equipment printable Hospital, Doctors & Services
Illness, Surgery, & Vacs charts for: Illness \ Surgery \ vaccinations printable Illness, Surgery, & Vacs
Insurance Chart  insurance info chart printable Insurance Chart
Medical History (Family)  chart for: Medical histories for family members; illnesses, age of deaths etc. printable Family Medical History
Questions for the next Dr. visit- have your questions handy along with the answers printable Questions for Doc
Typical Week Schedule Chart- good for children with Autism, etc. printable Weekly Schedule

Appointment Calendar Year-at-a-Glance sheets for: 2009-2014 (pdf only)

Cover Inserts: colorful frame (the one pictured above) | blue/sun/star | pink/flower/heart

Another Resource Link: Massachusetts has printed a manual for families whose children have special health needs that provides much valuable information about navigating the health care system, communicating with physicians and insurers, organizing materials, working with early intervention and the public school system as well as a comprehensive chapter on emergency preparedness. Downloads from “Directions for My Child’s Care” can be found at: www.mass.gov/dph/fch/directions

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