2: Person-Centered Thinking and Planning
- Page ID
- 45308
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)What we will learn
- The importance of using person-centered practices in all areas of SDP planning
- About resources to support person-centered practices
- How person-centered practices connect to SDP
Person-centered practices are at the core of everything in the Self Determination Program (SDP). Person-centered thinking and planning help ensure the person served by the regional center is the focus of all programs and services. This person, the individual served by the regional center, is also in charge of all decision-making.
Some people will run their SDP plan with minimal support. Others will choose trusted supporters to help them manage their Self Determination Program. Still others will depend more heavily on their circle of support for a successful SDP experience.
Regardless of ability or interest in running their own program, the person served by the regional center, often referred to as the “participant” or the “individual served”, is the center and focus of the program and all planning. The SDP participant is the person in control of their goals, their staff, and their lives.
The person you are supporting in the Self Determination Program is the foremost expert on their life. They know what they like -- and what they dislike. They know the kinds of people they want to spend time with – and who they do not.
Do not fall into the trap of thinking that the family or circle of support or the regional center or the agencies working with the individual “know best”. This will not serve your client well.
When all parties come together to brainstorm and collaborate with a common focus on the person at the center of the planning, self-direction can flourish.
SDP participants are experts on their own lives and are key in making improvements, choices, and changes in their lives. They determine how they participate in the community and choose the supports they want and need to live full lives.
In SDP, they create, or co-create with their trusted supporters, short and long-term goals through the person-centered planning process. Using these goals as the foundation for a meaningful life in the community, these participants make decisions about how prioritize their efforts and meet their goals — not the participant’s family, not their circle of support, not the regional center, and not the vendored agencies that provide services.
Acknowledging that these decisions and choices may use Supported Decision Making (SDM) strategies, ultimately, the decisions about a participant’s daily life – along with all supports and services they want and need– belong to the person in the program: the SDP participant.
There are many resources to support you in your person-centered thinking development. Some of the most celebrated and respected are listed here.
- Inclusion Press: Circles of Support page
- Person-Centered Thinking: Helen Sanderson and Associates
- Charting the Life Course, UMKC
- Open Future Learning, YouTube Channel*
*Hint for success: If you are supporting a person who will hire direct support staff, make sure every staff member, parent, sibling, service coordinator, and you – the independent facilitator—watch the short instructive videos created by Open Future Learning. Be aware that there is some profanity within the shorts.
Especially powerful are these shorts from Open Future Learning:
- “Disability Advocacy by Fionn”
- “Not a child. Not your property”
- “People with Down syndrome are not your caricature”
Deeper thinking about training staff
If you were to create short training videos for direct support professionals, families, or the broader community, what would you focus on?
The life and voice of the person served by the regional center is always the center of planning in the Self Determination Program. Person-centered active supports increase choice and reduce challenging behavior while effective independent facilitation can elevate the wants and needs of the person served above those of their circles of support. These desires and needed supports connect directly to creating the life and meeting the goals uncovered and identified in the person-centered planning process.
Deeper thinking about person-centered practices
Sometimes you may feel like you are working with a parent of a participant more than the participant. Think of ways to ensure the planning is centered on what the person served by the regional center wants and needs. Consider how you encourage trusted supporters to use person-centered active supports and Supported Decision Making (SDM). Are you actively modeling this in your interactions? What could you do to model this behavior with those you support?
Create a list of questions you could ask or role play a dialogue with members of the circle of support to help them understand the value of person-centered practices.