Let me assure you that a mother does not have to be a high school graduate to use this diary. It takes interest, it takes thought, and it takes some work to learn. It certainly helps if the health care provider is interested and knowledgeable enough to help the parent learn. She spent five minutes explaining the Asthma Signs Diary to his teenage mother. Before I used this diary, I did not know what to look for.
Parents often analyze their diaries at home.
They observe the changes that take place when they change the dose of medicine or their child is exposed to a trigger. I am usually able to confirm their analysis at the next visit. After I had described the usefulness of the asthma diary, one of them asked me how many of my patients keep a diary. All of them, I said. The question surprised me.