This tipsheet was made for someone who is interested in making an ‘All About Me’ resource for their family member with a disability.
From a caregiver’s perspective:
Our children are very busy. At school, in community activities, at summer camp or even in their own home – there is always something to keep track of! Teachers, recreation leaders, support workers, friends and family members need information to help a child with a disability feel happy and safe. A resource containing this important information can explain to people how best to handle different situations with the child.
Ideas for ways to organize information:
- A simple 3-ring binder (the binder can have different sections for different types of information)
- A presentation that you can send through email (where every slide contains a different piece of information)
- A health app (made for communicating between people and by sharing information)
- Cloud storage online (where you can sort different pieces of information)
- Infographics (where you can share important information in a quick, visual way)
Examples of topics that you can include in an All About Me resource:
- General Information about the child or youth
- Name
- Age
- Photo or piece of art by the child
- A short ‘introduction’ that can be written by a parent or child
- Contact Information in case of emergency
- Parent or caregiver name(s) and contact number(s)
- Emergency contact person and number (other than parent/caregiver)
- Doctor’s contact information
- Health Information important for participating in activities
- Diagnosis
- Allergies
- Medication
- Protocols
- Communication with others
- Methods of communication
- Devices and tools used for communication
- Commonly-used phrases or gestures
- Behaviours and mannerisms that might indicate a feeling, need or want
- Equipment that the child uses
- Type of equipment
- How to safely use equipment
- Picture of the equipment
- Care for equipment
- Mealtimes and eating
- Foods or textures that the child likes or dislikes
- Position for eating, or eating habits
- Times of the day that the child has to eat
- If medications have to be administered with food
- Food allergies and restrictions
- Interests, Likes and Dislikes
- What activities does the child participate in?
- What does the child like to do?
- What does the child dislike?
- Favourite TV shows, music, movies
Tips from a caregiver:
- Every child is different. Add other topics of information, which can be important to your child’s well-being!
- Parent Tip for School: if you are keeping a binder at school - be sure to put your child’s name and classroom number (information to tell where this information should be kept) on the face of the binder.
Some examples and tools for organizing your child’s information (free):
- Connect2Care (Client portal for Holland Bloorview clients and families): http://www.hollandbloorview.ca/connect2care
- Keeping It Together (Templates for organizing your child’s information, free forms to download online): https://www.canchild.ca/en/research-in-practice/the-kit
- Knowledge is the Best Medicine (Electronic medication log and app, both free): https://www.knowledgeisthebestmedicine.org/index.php/en/
- Prezi (Make presentations online through Prezi ‘Basic’ for free): https://prezi.com/
- Box.com (10GB of free cloud storage online through Box ‘Individual’): https://www.box.com/pricing/individual
- Piktochart (Make infographics or presentations for free): https://piktochart.com/
- Canva (Make infographics or presentations for free): https://www.canva.com
Last updated by a Family Support Specialist and a Family Mentor in May 2018
