Families rarely go looking for “personal support”. They go looking for help with a stroke, or a diagnosis they were given last week, or a parent who is not recovering the way the hospital said they would. These pages are organized the way people actually search.
Every condition here is one we already support in Ontario homes. Where a page says a task needs a nurse rather than a personal support worker, that is not a formality — it is the law, and we would rather tell you plainly at the start than have you find out later.
These pages cover every age. Autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome, diabetes and brain injury are not conditions of old age, and support for them should not stop at eighteen. Where a page applies to children as well as adults, it says so.
Brain, nerves and spine
Conditions affecting the brain, the nerves or the spinal cord, at any age.
Parkinson’sMedication timing, freezing and falls, unhurried mealtimes, and nights.
Multiple sclerosisSupport that scales up in a relapse and back down afterwards.
ALSTransfers, communication devices, overnight repositioning, and real respite.
Acquired brain injuryRoutine, memory and initiation, fatigue, and carers who stay calm.
Spinal cord injuryAttendant support you direct yourself, on time, done your way.
Epilepsy and seizuresSeizure response, medication timing, and letting a family stop listening.
Huntington’s diseaseMovement, mood and calories, and a family often carrying the same risk.
Muscular dystrophyTransfers, positioning, and the breathing side that gets missed.
Heart, lungs and kidneys
Long-term conditions where what happens at home between appointments decides most of the outcome.
COPD and respiratoryEnergy conservation, home oxygen, inhalers, and spotting a flare-up on day one.
Kidney disease and dialysisTransport, the renal diet, fluid limits and the days after a session.
Ventilator and tracheostomyRN and RPN shift coverage, and an honest answer about whether we can staff it.
Cancer and long-term conditions
Support through treatment, and through conditions that are managed for years rather than cured.
DiabetesMeals and doses lined up, feet checked daily, and lows treated properly.
Arthritis and mobilityMornings, bathing, hands, and keeping moving without falling.
Sickle cell diseaseHelp through a crisis, and the transition into adult care.
Vision lossLabels, medication, safe cooking, and getting out of the house again.
Chronic painPacing, the bad days, and being believed.
Recovery, wounds and nursing care
Getting back on your feet after surgery or a fall, and the nursing care that has to be done by a nurse.
Falls and fracturesRebuilding confidence, and finding the reason it happened.
Wound careRN and RPN care for pressure injuries, ulcers and surgical wounds.
Ostomy, catheter and continenceThe things people least want to ask about, handled quietly.
Bariatric careRight equipment, enough carers, and staff who behave normally.
Amputation and limb lossResidual limb care, the prosthesis routine, and protecting the other foot.
Lifelong conditions — children and adults
Support that does not stop at eighteen. These pages cover children, adults and older adults.
Cerebral palsy — children and adultsPositioning, transfers, mealtimes, and being addressed as an adult.
Down syndrome — all agesIndependence, missed health needs, ageing, and ageing parents.
Developmental disability — adultsA life, not supervision: work, friends, routine and privacy.
Mental health supportPractical support around treatment — routine, meals, and turning up.
Nursing for medically complex children
Registered nursing at home for children whose care cannot be delivered by a support worker.
Care paid for by an insurer or a programme
These three are less about the condition than about who pays for the care, which is the part families most often get wrong. Each page explains how the funding actually works before it describes the support.
Workplace injuryAttendant care after a WSIB claim, and what to ask your case manager for.
VeteransThe Veterans Independence Program pays for far more than most people claim.
Parents and newborns
Recovery after a birth is recovery from surgery in a good many cases, and sleep loss is a clinical risk rather than a rite of passage.
Conditions with their own pages already
These four were built before this section and keep their own addresses:
- Dementia and Alzheimer’s care
- Palliative and end-of-life care
- Post-hospital and transitional care
- Care for children and young people
Not on this list?
The list is not the limit. Much of home care is the same work whatever the diagnosis on the chart — washing, dressing, meals, medication, moving safely, and somebody noticing when something has changed. Call us and describe the situation rather than the diagnosis.