Person-Centered Planning

From the director of The Center of Creative Play, I heard of a technique being used to enable persons with disabilities to plan their own life strategies.

Mara is the mother of a special-needs child, and her experience lead her to create and direct the CfCP. The facility was built according to Universal Design Principles to accomodate the diverse physical and emotional needs of all the patrons: children, parents, autistic children and adults, and those with accute physical challenges.

Person-Centered Planning is aptly described by Tom W. of Colorado Springs.

Tom is the third generation in his family with the same genetic disability, however he has completed three college level degrees, despite his disability. His blog, Living Our Ability addresses many issues in society and the media reguarding living fully, even with unique challenges.

The facilitator does not just sit there and observe, in fact – they aggressively guide the conversation so that the group stays on task, communicates clear information, and reaches agreements. The facilitator wants to make sure that there is clear direction, and that the methodology is vivid. The facilitator is not aggressive about the content of the process; it is up to the focus person and their friends to determine content. For the facilitator there is a balance between being aggressive about getting clear information and agreements, and not being aggressive about content. This balance takes practice. It is essential that the facilitator not become a judge. For the process itself, including the facilitator, the only limits about what the plan can include are the limits of commitment on the parts of those involved, as well as their imagination. For the planners, the limits involve only their ability to enroll others and find resources.

(Forest & Pearpoint & O'Brien, 1997)

Person-Centered Planning is a family of tools used to organize and guide community change, and brings together persons with disabilities, their friends, and family. The tools used in Person-Centered Planning include CIRCLES, Making Action Plans (MAPS), and Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH). People can choose to compare their present to a time in their past that was worse, instead of comparing their present to the future they want. People can throw out their picture of the future they want as being unreal, and say that they would like to help but they can not because outside forces will not let them. They can also keep busy with activities that do not give them any time to listen or learn from others. For those that believe the future is brighter than the present, a Person-Centered Plan may be a good tool to help that future be realized.

(O'Brien & Lovett, 2003)

Comments

[Beth Schaffner]

FYI, my agency, PEAK Parent Center, runs a project called the Colorado Person-Centered Planning Initiative. We offer free person-centered planning facilitation for school-aged children and young adults up to age 30 who have disabilities. We also host a Taking Charge self-advocacy and leadership course and a Life-Building Project series for young adults which uses person-centered planning principles. For more information, please contact Beth Schaffner at [email protected] .

[Barney cunningham]

A great but brief introduction to person Centred Planning, for futher information look also to Smulls essential lifestyle planning, Helen Sanderson in the UK for her work on Person centred teams and approaches and also the truly creative Beth mount for her personal Futures Planning.

If you are interested in how you use graphic facilitation within this area look at Jack Pierpoints stuff or please contact me on how I use graphics and person centred thinking for inclusive design with people who use services.