It started with a question.
"How can a person explain their symptoms and needs without saying their diagnosis?"
The goal of the Symptom Table Version 1 is for a person to briefly communicate the types of symptoms they are experiencing when they don’t have a diagnosis or are keeping the diagnosis private for confidentiality. Ideally this could be used in the future to receive accommodations and disability services more easily, especially for people to get the assistance they deserve when their diagnosis or symptoms are rare or stigmatized.
Caption: This is an organized version of the table. If you can't see it there a text version copy and pasted below the post, titled Table Written Version. The post directly below is a generic description of the table.
Area of Impact: What
This is about what type of functioning is impacted by the symptom. This gives other people an idea of the type of issues you're dealing with and what services and accommodations are associated with it.
Frequency: When Frequency is about when and for how long the symptom happens. This gives other people an idea of when and for how long you need accommodations or services, as well as how to take preventative measures.
Quality: How
Quality is about how the symptom manifests in the symptom's area of impact.
Label Explanations:
- Opening Ability describes symptoms like excess energy, sensory sensitivities, or sensory overload.
- Closing Ability describes symptoms like mobility issues, deafness, or deficits in intellectual functioning.
Opening and closing both end in ‘ing’ to represent how symptoms are rarely complete. The majority of people who are legally blind have limited sight, and the majority of wheelchair users have limited ability to walk. People can have both Closing and Opening ability for the same symptom!
- Different Ability can be a few different things. This can be a symptom that is present but not primarily defined by any of the other categories. This does not mean that the symptom is not distressing. In Areas of Impact relating to the brain, Different Ability includes symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and misinterpretations or misperceptions. In all Areas of Impact, Different Ability also includes symptoms where tangible accommodations are not needed but there is still a benefit to communicating the symptom to other people.
- Connected is when symptoms are triggered by or related to other symptoms.
Sustainable Development Goal 8.5 is to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value by 2030. Could a Symptom Table help get us there?
This is Version 1! If you have questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on how the labels could have improved practicality and accuracy while maintaining it's brief nature, leave your comments so an improved Version 2 can be made.
Table Written Version
Here is a written version of the rest of the labels. Most are self explanatory.
Abled
This is a space to describe what symptoms you don’t have or (in the case of accommodations) things you can do when the symptom list is impractically long.
Area of Impact
Physical Sensory Mental Intellectual Cognitive Social Unpredictable
Frequency
Episodic Fluctuating Improving Consistent Progressive Stress Induced Trigger Induced Unpredictable
***Flared will be added
Quality Pain Fatigue Weakness Closing Ability Opening Ability Different Ability Unpredictable
Descriptors
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Unpredictable
Connected
Accommodations This is a space to describe the accommodation (s) you need for the symptom, if applicable.
Comments