Newly Diagnosed with Autism - Organizing your Resources
You can listen to this blog post by pressing play on the black box!
Here we are, the last part of what has become a little mini-series on navigating an Autism diagnosis. If you’re new here, so far I’ve covered finding your support system (here), navigating different types of therapies (here), and understanding your insurance benefits + state mandates (here).
Now, how in the heck do we keep all this information straight?!?
Organizing online resources & information:
If you read last week's blog, I shared my first tip for keeping information organized, especially resources you find online. Go ahead and make yourself a Bookmark or Favorites folder on whatever internet browser you utilize labeled “Autism Resources” or something similar. Then, as you come across great resources online, you can bookmark them to that folder and come back to them at a time you might need them. Go ahead, make it right now. I’ll wait.
Organizing paperwork and digital paperwork:
Next, you’ll probably want to think of a way to organize all the paperwork you’ll receive. A file box like this one or a large binder like this one work great for this. Go ahead and make files (for the file box) or dividers (for the binder). I’d recommend breaking them into the following sections:
Speech therapy, if appropriate.
Occupational therapy, if appropriate.
ABA therapy, if appropriate.
Physical therapy, if appropriate.
Other therapy, if appropriate.
Insurance Authorizations
Insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOBs)
Receipts for payments (copays, coinsurance, private therapy, etc.) - Especially if you’re using an HSA or FSA card for paying for services.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) information
If you’ll be saving this information digitally, I’d recommend creating a folder on your computer with your child’s name. Then creating folders for each of the above-mentioned sections to drop in reports, documentation, and more.
Keeping track of appointments:
Decide if you’re going to be a paper planner/calendar or a digital calendar person. I’m not the boss of you, but you’re likely going to want a way to keep therapy appointments readily available. Having a calendar that your child can see might also benefit them, as many children benefit from knowing what to expect in their day and week.
Bonus: Include notifications for therapy appointments so you’re less likely to forget and get charged no-show or late cancellation fees! Most clinics or service providers have these charges in their policies.
Side note: have you heard of these Skylight calendars?!? It’s basically a digital calendar that you can have on your counter at home where everyone can see upcoming appointments and events. This is NEXT level. However, if your child benefits from knowing when things are happening, having a calendar like this, a visual schedule, or a paper calendar that they can see might all be great visual supports for them.
That’s all folks!
Hopefully this mini-series has been helpful to you! If you have additional questions or want additional information about what we’ve discussed over the past 4 weeks, schedule a consultation or send me an email. I’d love to chat with you more!
