Guidelines of Care and Care Plans

The guidelines of care were developed for use by health care professionals to provide anticipatory guidance and counseling to families about specific chronic conditions. They provide age-specific information about key clinical issues, related evaluations and key procedures, and potential referral to medical specialists and community services. They specify the role of the primary care office and medical specialists and provide general guidelines for the frequency of re-evaluation by the primary care provider and the specialty team.  They are based on review of the medical literature and expert consensus.  Currently, the evidence based support for clinical practice for many disabilities and chronic conditions is limited.

Listed below are the guidelines for care and management plans for the conditions of Autism, Cleft Lip and Palate, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Delay and Seizure Disorders. Guidelines for care and management plans for other conditions are available in the Physicians Guide to the Care of Children With Disabilities and Chronic Conditions, edited by RE Nickel and LW Desch, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. This book is available for purchase on the Web.

The Family and Physician Management Plan is one example of a Care Plan. It is constructed to invite information from families and also provides a "checklist" to remind physicians about the clinical issues to address for a given diagnosis. It includes some of the health information families should keep in a care notebook. Most importantly the care plan is an action plan. It will identify what needs to be done, by whom and when. We have included the management plans for children with developmental delay, cerebral palsy, cleft lip and palate, autism and ADHD. Links to other examples of care plans are available from the National Center for Medical Home Initiatives and the Center for Medical Home Improvement.  Health care providers can provide valuable support to families in keeping an up-dated care plan in their care notebook.  For further information on care notebooks, please review the discussion in the section "Information for Families".

Autism and Pervasive Development Disorders: Guidelines for the Care of Children and Adolescents with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Cleft Lip and Palate: Guideline for the Care of Children and Adolescents with Cleft Lip and Palate

Cerebral Palsy: Guidelines for the Care of Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy

Developmental Delay or Mental Retardation: Guidelines for the Care of Children and Adolescents with Developmental Delay or Mental Retardation

Seizure Disorders: Guidelines for the Care of Children and Adolescents with a Seizure Disorder