It's the beginning of school year so there will be details galore! How do you keep all of them together? I found that I needed a place where I could bring a little order to my family's schedule. Otherwise it turned to chaos! The family command center is one way of doing this? It's not the only way or THE WAY, but it is one way. This is a place where I can put my hands on what I need quickly. If I am going to advocate well, I have to find what I need.
I have always had a chalk board in my kitchen. I spent a tremendous amount of time in this room and my computer was in the next room about 5 steps from the kitchen. It had a table in it where I could sit and work so it was a simple decision where my command center was. Let me give you a few ideas that have worked for us.
Have a large chalkboard or white board. This could be used as a calendar for a master schedule with everyone's activities and appointments listed. It could be a weekly schedule of the things that are happening for the week. It could focus on long term assignments and homework. It could be a daily schedule especially if you have a incredibly busy life. It may just be a list of things that need to be remembered. You decide what your household needs.
I think it is valuable to use all kinds of schedules. An individual schedule for each family member can be very helpful. This is where a scheduling app can save you lots of time. It takes a minimal amount of time to put these various type of schedules together.
If you have lots of medical appointments that usually means you are on the phone a lot. Some sort of running list or paper calendar may save you time later. When you call the occupational therapy office on June 1, write "talked to Jaime at Therapy Solutions." She said. "There should be an opening to begin speech by June 15. I will call you back within 3 days to set up." This type of calendar can be used for calls to school, therapy, doctors and insurance companies. Simple documentation can save you time (and frustration)when you need to follow up. There will be a lot of follow up as you advocate for your children.
For me, the most important part of the command center was a portable file system. This was where all my paper documents were stored so I could put my hand on them during phone call with professionals or an insurance company. I could locate what I needed in a portable system that could be easily taken to a meeting. Some people do this in a note book system but I have like the file system. Next week's advocating post will be about this file system.
I would love hearing what others have found that works in a family command center.
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