Skills and Strategies for Health Care Decision-Making with Children

July 17, 2021

Being a decision-maker for your own healthcare is important. Families and healthcare providers want children to become good decision-makers. For some children this takes more support, practice, and some special tools. Learning this skill should begin in childhood and continue into adulthood. The Skills and Strategies for Health Care Decision-Making guide helps families and healthcare providers support children to learn the skills they need.

The Skills and Strategies for Health Care Decision-Making guide was developed by URLEND trainees supported by the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities at the University of Montana.

The Utah Regional LEND, or URLEND, is a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) training program that uses technology to connect groups of trainees across partner states. Professionals are trained to move beyond discipline boundaries to provide optimal services to children and adolescents with special health care needs. Because families are essential to well-being, URLEND emphasizes the role of family-centered care.

This resource was created in partnership with Jennifer Banna, former URLEND family trainee and current Montana Family to Family Health Information Center Coordinator. Thanks also to the many practitioners, families, and individuals with disabilities across the URLEND region who participated in workgroups and provided valuable feedback throughout the process.