Disability Coordination Office ACT - Negotiating the Maze

Functional Skills Checklist

Download checklist in a worksheet format:

 Physical Health and Wellbeing Worksheet (307 Kb) MS Word format

 Physical Health and Wellbeing Worksheet (236 Kb) PDF format

The checklist work-sheet includes the following goals:

Goals

Balanced Lifestyle

• Identifies and maintains a regular sleep routine
• Identifies and uses stress management strategies

Food, Diet and Nutrition

(Additional information is included in the Home Life Skills section)

• Decides what to eat
• Recognises, selects, prepares and eats foods that are nutritious
• Understands the relationship between diet, physical activity and health
• Identifies the food components of a balanced diet
• Reads and understands food nutrition labels
• Develops weekly eating plans suitable for different occasions such as a regular week, a holiday, a time when you may be recovering from an illness
• Stores food appropriately (food hygiene)

Physical Exercise and Sporting Activities

• Identifies activities that promote health and fitness
• Participates in regular physical activity
• Participates in fitness activities individually, with a partner or a group
• Selects appropriate clothing and equipment for the activity
• Demonstrates appropriate behaviour when participating in physical exercise and/or sporting activities
• Applies sunscreen or sun protection for outside activities

Use of Gyms and Sports Facilities

• Signs in and out of a gym or similar facility
• Changes clothes in an appropriate area
• Uses locker for storage
• Identifies who to approach to ask for assistance
• Waits patiently for assistance
• Asks to borrow equipment
• Uses exercise equipment
• Interacts with other patrons
• Understands and follows facility rules

Planning and Organising Activities

• Identifies and uses a range of methods to access information about physical exercise and sporting activities in the community. These may include:
  • Television
  • Radio
  • Newspapers
  • Internet
  • Community Organisations

Personal Healthcare and associated healthcare information^[1]

• Manages personal healthcare and associated healthcare information
• Monitors own health on an ongoing basis
• Develops an emergency care action plan
• Plans for and undergoes regular check-ups (doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals etc.)
• Recognises the symptoms of infectious diseases and takes appropriate action to prevent them spreading

Medical Appointments

• Identifies circumstances when they may need to see a doctor or healthcare professional
• Schedules an appointment to see a doctor, dentist, healthcare provider
• Can get to and from medical appointments (transportation)
• Can communicate that they are feeling ill
  • Describes their symptoms
  • Describes their healthcare needs
  • Prepares questions for doctors/healthcare professionals
  • Responds to questions from doctors/healthcare professionals
  • Asks for clarification if they don't understand the information given by doctors/healthcare professionals

Health History Summary ^[2]

• Prepares and maintains a Health History Summary
• Completes standard medical forms and paperwork including being able to answer the Yes/No section asking about common conditions
• Provides appropriate information to healthcare providers, including:
  • Names and contact details of their doctors and/or health care professionals (family doctor, therapists etc.)
  • Current medications
  • Negative reactions to medications
  • Allergies (food and drug)
  • Past medical history (any serious illnesses, injuries, hospitalisations etc.)
  • Medical tests
  • Medical equipment
  • Family health history
  • Emergency Contacts
  • Health Insurance Information, if applicable

Health Advocacy

• Understands implications of their disability and personal medical conditions on daily life
• Identifies when it is appropriate (and when it is not appropriate) to disclose disability and personal confidential health information (including who it is appropriate to disclose to)
• Explains their disability and/or personal medical conditions, in appropriate circumstances, to others
• Identifies and is able to access both formal and informal advocacy services and supports to assist them to maintain their health and wellbeing
• Accesses healthcare information and advice
• Identifies and accesses community health facilities including:
  • Hospitals
  • Medical Suites
  • Family Planning Clinics
  • Chemists
  • Pathology Clinics
  • Therapists

Medication

• Manages own medication
• Takes the prescription to the chemist for filling
• Seeks advice from a chemist, if required
• Picks up and pays for the prescription from chemist
• Identifies if the prescription is a repeat prescription
• Identifies how many repeat prescriptions are remaining
• Organises a new prescription including making an appointment with the doctor
• Takes medication as directed (how much, how often, before or after meals etc.)
• Stores medication appropriately (at appropriate temperature, out of harms way)
• Identifies the used by date of medication
• Disposes of medication appropriately (expired or unused)
• Takes non-prescription medication appropriately (for a headache, cold etc.)
• Understands the dangers of taking someone else's prescription medication
• Demonstrates understanding of appropriate and inappropriate use of drugs and medication
• Identifies the difference between legal and illegal drugs

Periods

• Manages own menstrual needs
• Selects, purchases and restocks tampons/pads
• Understands and demonstrates appropriate personal hygiene routine for use and disposal of tampons/pads
• Maintains a record of periods
• Understands and identifies pre-menstrual symptoms
• Keeps a pre-menstrual symptoms diary, if required
• Develops a plan to relieve for relieving menstrual cramps, if appropriate

Alcohol, Cigarettes and Illegal Drugs

• Understands the health problems associated with smoking
• Understands the dangers of taking illegal drugs
• Understands the health problems associated with drinking excessive quantities of alcohol
• Understands what a standard alcoholic drink is
• Understands the effects of alcohol on your system
• Understands and demonstrates strategies to avoid having your drink spiked
• Demonstrates refusal skills when offered alcohol, cigarettes and/or drugs

Sexual Health

• Sex Education
• Identifies habits and lifestyle practices that may lead to the transmission or prevention of sexually transmitted diseases

Medicare

• Possesses and understands how to use a Medicare card
   

Some common questions for your doctor

• What is wrong?
• What should I do?
• Do I need any medical tests?
• How long will this last?
• When should I start to feel better?
• Can I go to back to work/school/community activities?
• Are there things I can't or shouldn't do?
• Do I need medicine?
• How much?
• How often?
• Are there side effects?
• What should I do if I don't start feeling better or if I feel worse?
• Do I need to make another appointment?

Source: Transition to Adult Health Care: A Training Guide in Two Parts (January 2005) Gillman, D and Schlicht B.  Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Centre for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Accessed 19/11/07 
www.waisman.wisc.edu/hrtw/Publications.html  or
www.waisman.wisc.edu/hrtw/Adult_Teen.pdf 

[1] This section includes information adapted from Gillman, D and Schlicht B (2005)  Transition to Adult Health Care: A Training Guide in Two Parts, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Centre for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, accessed 19/11/2007
www.waisman.wisc.edu/hrtw/Publications.html  or
www.waisman.wisc.edu/hrtw/Adult_Teen.pdf

[2] The following resource includes templates that may be helpful when developing a Health History Summary:
Washington State Department of Health/Children with Special Health Care Needs Program (Revised June 2006) Working Together for Successful Transition: Washington State Adolescent Transition Resource Notebook,page 268-285, accessed 19/11/07, http://depts.washington.edu/healthtr/notebook/default.html