Each new year brings a new opportunity to evaluate a few things for your child’s healthcare. You can think about their unique physical and mental well-being and determine what you need to schedule, update, and review.
Planning ahead is such a game changer. It helps me stay organized and on top of things–I tend to thrive when I have a clear cut plan of action and know what things I have on my calendar each month. These cozy and slower times at the beginning of the year are a great opportunity to set yourself up for success.
Early January is the perfect time to do these three things:
1. Review your insurance plan
Before you can figure out how to use your plan, you have to know what’s in it.
A lot of people fail to take advantage of the benefits that are offered by their health insurance policy simply because they don’t know they exist – or even worse, they end up paying out-of-pocket for expenses that may have been covered.
Health insurance companies are required to provide a summary of benefits and coverage written in simple language. If you don’t get it in the mail at the beginning of the year, you can log on to your health insurance website or call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask for them to send you a copy.
At the start of each year, take a few minutes to look over your summary of benefits, even if you’ve had the same plan for a long time and you’re pretty sure you know what’s in it.
2. Update your child’s 504 plan
A 504 plan is a blueprint for how the school will support a student with a disability and remove barriers to learning. The goal is to give the student equal access at school.
504 plans often include accommodations. These can include:
- Changes to the environment (like taking tests in a quiet space)
- Changes to instruction (like checking in frequently on key concepts)
- Changes to how curriculum is presented (like getting outlines of lessons)
- Changes to schedule (like allowing extra time to move between class periods)
Accommodations don’t change what kids learn, just how they learn it and how they navigate the school experience. The goal is to remove barriers and give kids access to learning. The new year is a perfect time to review your child’s current 504 plan and ensure all accommodations are still appropriate and applicable to your child.
3. Schedule Yearly Appointments
At the beginning of the year, I take out my previous years planner and review each month. I make note of the medical appointments Callie had and then I block off one afternoon during the first week in January to call and schedule her yearly follow up appointments. A lot of the times, I have already scheduled a lot of these at our last appointment but there are others that I do need to tackle–vision, kidney doctor, and her annual physical for school. Getting them scheduled and on the calendar keeps me from “dropping” the proverbial ball plus it reduces the stress that can come with trying to get into a fully booked clinic later in the year.
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