The KIT: Keeping It Together

The KIT: Keeping it Together is an organizational tool for parents caring for children with disabilities, developed by CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, and the Hamilton Family Network . It is a way to organize information for your child, and to assist you when interacting with different service systems, for example health, education, and recreation. Included is a User's Guide that will help you through the initial process of how to use the KIT. It is useful for parents of children with a wide variety of special needs and all developmental ages from birth to 21 years.

The KIT has two parts: the user's guide and the binder.

Part 1: User's Guide

  • Full of strategies, tips and resources about information
  • Provides the "how to's" for using the Information Kit
  • Contains examples and tips from parents to help you get started

Part 2: Binder

  • Provides you with an interactive, organizational system for your own information
  • Contains blank forms for you to write on, as well as sections for you to store current documents, business cards and other types of information that you need to have at your fingertips

If you like these forms, you can purchase the entire KIT, including Binder and User's Guide at the information listed below.

If you have already purchased the KIT, please feel free to download the forms for future use.

To order:

The KIT can be ordered online from the McMaster University Campus Store or by calling Customer Service at 1-800-238-1623.

Cost:

$29.99 plus GST and shipping. If you order online, you can pay with Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. If you order in person, you can pay using cash, credit, or debit.

In addition, the Bookstore has recently implemented quantity discount pricing. Please contact the store.

The KIT: Keeping it Together™ for Youth (the Youth KIT)

The Youth KIT is a special edition of the original KIT that assists youth give, get and organize their own information as they transition to adulthood.

Click here to access the Youth KIT PDF

Alongside the Youth KIT, there are two videos available to help you and your mentor use the Youth KIT. New users are recommended to watch the following videos:

Getting started with the Youth KIT

Working as a Mentor to Complete the Youth KIT

Research behind the Youth KIT

In the following video, CanChild researcher and PhD Student Matt Freeman discusses the research behind the Youth KIT:

ICF and Transition Services