Supporting People with Severe Reputations in the Community

While written over thirty years ago this piece, by Michael Smull and Susan Burke Harrison, is a classic and one of the first pieces written about person-centered planning and thinking in action. It deserves a read or reread. The handbook presents the tools needed to develop better community capacity to support people with “severe reputations.’ … Read more

Helping people find a balance: the role of the facilitator or being right is not enough

by Michael Smull As we help people learn to do person centered planning with people with disabilities, repeatedly those who do the training are asked what to do when what the person appears to want conflicts with what a parent or guardian wants. As people learn to do plans they also ask what they should … Read more

“4 Ways That ‘Our Minds Are Fine’ Is Ableist Toward Cognitively Disabled Folks”

A description and link to an article by Cara Liebowitz on identity first and people first language has been viewed on this site hundreds of times (find the link here). She recently wrote a follow-up article on the views of ableist views of some individuals with physical disabilities. Below is. a summary and link to … Read more

Art Bolton From the Bronx to California

Art is credited with playing a major role in writing the Lanterman Act in California. This is the story of how he traveled from the Bronx to California. He was also a great guy! Below you will find links to two YouTube videos. One is the back story of the Lanterman Act and the other … Read more

Person Centered Outcomes

Person centered planning is learning how people want to live, about what is important to someone in everyday life and discovering someone might want to live in the future. However, as Michael Smull has said, “a plan is not an outcome.” And as Helen Sanderson has said “Outcomes describe the specific things that the person … Read more

Person-centered planning and perversion prevention

Person-centered planning, in all of its forms, is moving from something done by a few enthusiasts to an activity that is being widely adopted and adapted. As it leaves the caring hands of the pioneers there are concerns for how it will be used. Our experience suggests that abuses generally arise from a lack of … Read more

Listen to Me! (fillable pdf version)

Download Listen to Me! here (Spanish version download here). LTM was developed at a time when Essential Lifestyle Planning (ELP) was one of the gold standards of person-centered planning. While it still sets a high standard, since that time, many other methods of planning with individuals for the lives they want to lead have been … Read more

Skills Application Log for Ways to Use Person Centered Skills for Service Coordinators and Direct Support Professionals

Once the PCT trainers have gone, it’s time to do the hard work of implementing and sustaining person centered thinking and planning skills. The fillable form provides service coordinators the opportunity to record their suggestions for using each of the skills and to share that learning with others. Download for service coordinatiors Skills Application Log … Read more

Trauma Informed Care

It is important to recognize that nearly everyone, including the people you support, has experienced some form of trauma in their life. You can download Trauma Informed Care: How and why it is essential for service and support agencies and workers by Nora J. Baladerian here.