How Can I Prepare for My Child’s Doctor Appointments?

When you have a child with a hearing loss, you may be interacting with a variety of medical and educational professionals. Keeping all the information straight can become an overwhelming task. We have a solution! We suggest creating a Medical Care Binder or Notebook! By creating a medical care notebook or binder, you can prepare for office visits, take notes during an appointment, and organize information or reports provided to you by educators or medical professionals all in one location.

Some of the elements that you may want to include in a medical care notebook or binder could be:

• A list of questions for the doctor.
• Written observations of your child’s hearing abilities, challenges, and habits to share with the doctor.
• Notes taken during the appointment. It may help you remember suggested treatments and the pros and cons and remember the names of recommended specialists.
• Contact information for all the doctors and professionals you visit.
• A section detailing your child’s medical history, including audiogram, specific dates, medications, and surgical procedures;
• Any hospital discharge paperwork.
• Release forms to provide permission to share information between the school and medical professionals.
• Documents detailing to early intervention (EI) and your child’s individualized family service plan (IFSP), if your child is receiving services.
• Documents detailing your child’s individualized education program (IEP) if your child is receiving special education services, or 504 Plan if they receive special accommodations.
• Health insurance information.

Note: If you are able to bring a friend or family member to take notes for you, this may be helpful when trying to take notes.