Resources for People with Developmental Disabilities
The tools and resources on this page are designed for people with developmental disabilities and caregivers. You can use these tools to help prepare for health care appointments make communicating with your doctor easier, and learn how to stay healthy
About My Health
The About My Health form was developed by the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program at Surrey Place. Fill it out so you can share important information about yourself and your health with new health care providers. Having this information ready can help appointments run more smoothly.
My Health Care Visit
The My Health Care Visit form was developed by the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program at Surrey Place. This form can be filled out during a health care visit to help you understand what was discussed during the appointment and any information you will need to know for follow-up.
Other Communication Tools
About Me
Use About Me to write down important information about yourself to share with hospital staff.
Exit Interview
Fill out the Exit Interview with the doctor or nurse at the hospital before you leave to help you remember what happened during your visit.
Things to Know About Health
It is important to know what you can do to make sure you are healthy. These information sheets will help you prepare for different health care appointments and tests:
- About Cervical Cancer Screening
- About Breast Cancer Screening
- About Bowel Screening
- About Going to the Hospital
- About Going to the Doctor.
Caregiver Resources and more about Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Family Matters Toolkit
This toolkit is for caregivers who are interested in improving the health and health care of a family member with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It is adapted from the Nuts and Bolts of Health Care Toolkit. Some of resources included are tools developed by the H-CARDD program as well as curated resources from Surrey Place's Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program and others. These tools can be used together, or as stand-alone materials, depending on your needs, goals and existing resources. We encourage you to use whichever pieces of this toolkit you feel are helpful.
Dual Diagnosis: An Information Guide: A Family Guide to Dual Diagnosis
A Family Guide to Dual Diagnosis
Download a copy of the Family Guide. This resource is divided into three parts:
- Part I: Understanding dual diagnosis provides an overview of dual diagnosis, an introduction to treatment options and information about developmental disabilities and mental health problems and how they interact.
- Part II: Supporting families focuses on the impact of dual diagnosis on family life. It includes information on experiencing, understanding and coping with dual diagnosis, and on self-care strategies for family members.
- Part III: Working with services explores treatment and support for people affected by dual diagnosis. It includes strategies for navigating the mental health and developmental service systems and information about psychosocial and medication treatment options and ways to deal with crisis situations.