FOCUS ON SEVERE DISABILITIES

Person-Centered Planning

Person-Centered Planning, also known as personal futures planning, is changing the way families and communities think about the futures of persons with severe disabilities. Historically, persons with severe disabilities were most commonly fit into programs that already existed. No serious attempt was made by schools and other service agencies to analyze the effectiveness or appropriateness of the program to the specific individual. Consequently, services for students with severe disabilities have often resulted in educational programs that were minimally effective and not engineered to functional, community-based skills. Person-Centered Planning turns the focus away from the system and places it on the individual. Strengths, preferences and an individualized system of support are identified to assist the individual with a severe disability to achieve functional, meaningful goals and objectives. Personal futures planning (PFP) is helping to create a shift in the way services for students with severe disabilities are conceptualized. PFP grew out of the movement for inclusive education for all students with disabilities. (Garner & Dietz, 1996).

Person-Centered Planning is a broad term that describes a concept developed from the work of John O’Brien and Beth Mount from the U.S. and Marsha Forest, Judith Snow and Jack Pearpoint from Toronto, Canada. All person centered planning approaches share three basic features: (1) everyday events and activities in which the individual participates should be the focus of planning; (2) family and connections within the community are more important than the services currently available; and (3) planning must be done with the individual with the disability and a group of people who know the student well and are committed to helping the student achieve their goals (Falvey et al., 1994).

Person-Centered Planning differs from the system-centered approach in many ways. In personal futures planning the focus is on the gifts, abilities, dreams and desires of the person while the system-centered approach focuses on the person’s deficits and weaknesses. System-centered approaches usually are controlled by educators or other professionals and usually include placement along a pre-established continuum with services that may be inflexible and not readily adapted to meet the specific needs of an individual. In contrast, the person-centered approach plans for an active, rewarding community life experience based on the person’s interests and strengths. Decisions are made and outcomes controlled by the individual with disabilities and those people closest to him. While the system-centered approach concentrates on developing plans and programs, the person-centered process strives to implement positive and possible plans to enrich the individual’s future (Falvey et al, 1994).

The term person-centered planning generally includes strategies such as Making Action Plans (MAPS), and Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) and Circle of Friends. All these approaches involve collaborative team planning processes. The goal of each strategy is learning through shared action by enlisting community members to assist the person with disabilities to define and work toward a possible and positive future (Falvey et al., 1994).

Making Action Plans or MAPS is a tool to assist the person with disabilities, their family and friends in gathering information that can be used to generate a plan of action for moving the focus person into their future. There are 8 key questions that are part of the MAP process, which include: What is a MAP?; What is the person’s history?; What is their dream?; What is their nightmare?; Who is the person?; What are the person’s gifts or strengths?; What are the person’s needs?; and What is the best plan of action to obtain the dream and avoid the nightmare? (Falvey et al., 1994).

PATH or Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope is an extension of the MAPS process. PATH makes use of the important information gathered during the MAP and develops a more definitive plan of action. PATH addresses both long and short term planning. Through the 8 step process the dream is defined, then a positive and possible goal is set for within 6 months to a year. Once the dream and goals are agreed upon, action plans are developed and people are asked to enroll or volunteer to be of support. First steps are decided upon, as well as steps to be accomplished by specific dates in the near future. Again, the PATH is a collaborative process that develops a concrete plan of action for the person with disabilities and those closest to them (Falvey et al., 1994).

Circle of Friends is a tool used to gather a supportive community around the person with a disability. The circle of support is meant to establish meaningful committed relationships with the focus person. The circle is developed by defining four concentric circles. The first circle is the circle of intimacy and includes the people most intimate in the focus person’s life. The second circle, the circle of friendship, includes good friends and close relatives. The third circle, the circle of participation includes the people and organizations the focus person is involved with. The fourth circle is the circle of exchange and includes those that are paid to be in the focus person’s life. The circle of friends provides a very important support network for the focus person. The group meets regularly to celebrate successes and discuss problems and brainstorm solutions. When a naturally formed circle of friends is non-existent, as is often the case for students with severe disabilities, educators can facilitate the development of a circle (Falvey et al., 1994).

The tools MAPS, PATH and Circle of Friends can be powerful tools in long range, future planning for students with severe disabilities. The collaborative team processes involved strengthen relationships and supportive networks. These strategies can bring people together to develop and implement a positive and possible future for a person with severe disabilities.

For further information on Person-Centered Planning, you may wish to attend the workshop scheduled for October 21 (See the workshop registration form in this newsletter.) or check out resources from the T-TAC ODU library that are listed below. Also, visit our web site for a link to the Inclusion Press Home Page where you will find a wealth of information on person-centered planning and inclusion strategies.

References

Garner, H. & Dietz, L. Person-Centered Planning: Maps and Paths to the Future. Four Runner, 11(5), 1996.

Falvey, M.A., Forest, M., Pearpoint, J. & Rosenberg, R. All My Life’s A Circle. Using the Tools: Circles, MAP’s and PATH. Toronto, Canada: Inclusion Press, 1994.