Tip Sheets and Toolkits
Parents tell us...
"I am so glad we have that durable medical equipment tip sheet. I have used it several times."
"At first I had no idea what I was doing, I reinvented the wheel every day."
"There are so many smart parents out there! I am so glad they are willing to share their tips."
"I love things written by other parents; they are so much easier to read. They talk about things that I relate to."
Almost every one of the resources on this page was written by parents of children with special physical, developmental, or behavioral health needs. There is a lot of wisdom here, but remember that you must always do your own research. What worked for someone else may not work for you.
Tip sheets A-Z
A variety of tips BY families FOR families.
Coping with a Child's Death or Life-Limiting Illness
Exceptional Needs Care Coordinator
Insurance Problems Tracking Sheet
Is My Child Eligible for Developmental Disability Services?
11 Tips to Make the Best of Your Appointment (ASD)
Patient-Centered Primary Care Homes
Planning for Health Emergencies Toolkit
Starting or Joining a Support Group
Transition-Finding an Adult Health Care Provider
Education toolkits
Resources and workbooks about topics so complex they need more than one page.
Education
FACT Oregon: Special education toolkits
Disability Rights Oregon: Short School Day Parent toolkit
CADRE: Steps to Success: Communicating Well With Your Child's School
Grandparents' toolkits
Generations United: Grand Resources
Oregon.gov Grandparents' legal rights
Sexuality and Puberty toolkits
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center: Healthy Bodies for Boys with Disabilities
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center: Healthy Bodies for Girls with Disabilities
American Academy of Child and Adolecsent Psychology
Facts Sheets for Families: Social Emotional Health
Condition-specific toolkits
Autism Speaks: Autism toolkits
Autism Speaks: Sleep tool kit for teens
Autism Speaks: Haircut tips
Autism Speaks: Medication decisions
Autism Speaks: A better visit with the dentist
Autism Speaks: Making a blood draw easier
Autism Speaks: Puberty and adolescence resource guide
Autism Speaks: Traveling with autism
Oregon Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Autism navigation Cascades map
Autism navigation Mid-Valley map
Autism navigation Portland Metro map
Autism navigation Southern OR map
United Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral palsy toolkit
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: T D 1 Informational Guides
NW Down Syndrome Association:
National Eating Disorders: NEDA Parent Toolkit
NW Epilepsy Foundation: Epilepsy and My Child
Feeding tube awareness: A Parent's Introduction to Tube Feeding
Global Genes, allies in rare disease: RARE diseases toolkits on many topics
Medically complex children and teens: Complex Child E-Zine
Sensory Integration/Autism: Recipes for DIY Sensory Tools
Developmental Disabilities/Vision or Hearing Impaired: Toilet training with special needs
Transition to Adult Health Care
Institute on Development and Disability: Transition Guide
FACT Oregon: LAUNCH
Oregon Center for Developmental Disabilities: Support for different stages of life
Autism Speaks: Transition toolkit
American College of Physicians: Condition-specific transition toolkits
Safety plans and toolkits
Disclaimer
Inclusion of resources on our site does not imply endorsement nor does exclusion mean we do not think it is valuable. We work to keep our list of resources current and relevant but it is not exhaustive.