Organizing Your Filing System

How Do You Organize Your Filing System?

Parenting Special Needs’ reader’s shared with us on Facebook how they organize their filing system: by year; by diagnosis; by provider; other? How did they manage their research and library?

Easy To Access

It’s all on my computer. I have a laser printer scanner..it’s magic. Then I can copy anything I need onto a disk or paper. ~Corinne S.

My husband keeps it all organized electronically. Scanning in documents when appropriate, making notes in folders and keeping a chronological list of medical ‘events’. He stores it in a manner that we can access it on iPad, iPhone, etc…  so when I’m at the doctor and they say “when did such and such happen?”, it’s easy to reference the exact date and details of the event. ~Tiffany W.

I keep an IEP binder and each page is lightly marked in pencil with its date, file date order to the back of the binder. I also have a Table of Contents in the very back, listing document name and date. There is a picture collage of my kid at the front cover. I file all things IEP related: testing, writing samples, medical testing results and dates of new meds and their side effects.  I have binders split in logical places, one school year or two depending on how much I have, I use a post it, sticky flag to visually mark the really important parts. ~Jennifer M.

Chronological Order

By diagnosis chronologically in file cases. IEP’s are completely separate and placed in plastic sleeves chronologically to grade and it comes with me to IEP meetings. ~Mel V.

I tend to do chronological, because that works for me. For instance, Botox started in Kindergarten, which was 2010-2011. It’s the way my mind works. The other thing I am doing more of is using my computer/smart phone and Microsoft One Note to keep track of things. I can even scan items that are NOT currently electronic and file them away in the “notebook”. ~Louise W.

Color Code Folders

Each doctor is color coated in a computer chip. starts with date seen and what the doc said. Then wherever we go we have all the info we need. Also our son has a card we made up that has all the surgeries, meds, blood type, phone #’s etc. with him at all times. Anyone who sees him also has this card. ~Kassy W.

I keep a file cabinet with one medical folder for each member of my family; one folder for school for each child. The school folder contains report cards and IEPs in chronological order. Medical stuff is chronological, too. ~Judy H.

Organize by Specialty

I’m finding binders are working better than folders. ~Misty K

By doctor…..I also keep all her Dr. appointments, what she went for, what they prescribed and next appointment all in the same book. My daughter is 28 and I still do it. It comes in very handy!! ~Debra B.

For each child; main folders are Medical, Legal Papers (we have many from adoption), Mental Health and School.  Medical files are broken down by doctor or specialist: Neurologist, Family Doctor, Physiatrist, etc. I have separate folders for general info and research about each diagnosis. This could be done with paper files, but I keep everything digitally in the cloud so I can access it anywhere. Usually I’m accessing it from my smartphone or tablet at appointments and meetings. I use the free app DropBox for cloud storage/backup on my laptop and all devices. ~Sue B.

To scan things from my phone or tablet without a scanner, I use DocScan which is also free.

I organize by specialty and chronologically within each. I just put all the school stuff into one folder regardless of specialty since the therapists don’t visit as often as the private therapists. Medicaid and waiver gets its own folder as well. Of course there is also the overwhelming folder of explanation of benefits from insurance. ~Lana D.

Check Out Our FREE Downloads

Helpful Articles

• Drowning in Paperwork? Here’s What Helps Us
• Organizing Your Child’s Special Education File: Do It Right
• Household Organization & Your Child’s Behavior
• Tips to Help Managing Papers!
• Managing Papers {Tip 24-31}
• Break It Down Tech Tools for Task Analysis
• How to Use Your Cell Phone to Save Time and Reduce Stress
• DIY Homework Folder {Tip 10 of 31}

This post originally appeared on our January/February 2015 Magazine