Over 1 million website views since 1996 – Resources for Supporting Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
allenbill Individuals with and without disabilities are often quite uncomfortable with change, for all sorts of understandable reasons. This can lead them to resist it and oppose it. This is why it’s important to understand how people are feeling as change proceeds, so that you can guide them through it and so that – in the … Read more
In the early days (late 1980s) of person-centered thinking and planning, Essential Lifestyle Planning was created by Michael Smull and Susan Burke Harrison to support people moving from institutions to community living arrangements. In the early 1990s, Jon was one of the first individuals outside of an institution to work with Michael and Claudia Bolton on … Read more
Forty plus years ago (1982), Nancy Gardner and I wrote this piece. We called it the ANDI for Consumers. It was an easy-to-read version of the ANDI (A Normalization and Development Instrument) that was, in turn, based on the PASS (Program Analysis of Service Systems) by Wolf Wolfensberger). California DDS used the ANDI to evaluate … Read more
By John O’Brien In most places, the government still pays people who give services. Services like a place to live, help with finding a job, support in keeping a place of your own. In some places, things are starting to change! The government is starting to give money to people with developmental disabilities to pay for their own … Read more
What exactly does a “good”person-centered plan include or look like? What are some outcomes we might anticipate for the person? This resource outlines promising practices for person-centered plan documentation anddescribes indicators of truly person-centered plans for quality monitoring purposes.
In the early1980s, I was working at a Regional Center in Northern California. Regional Centers provide funding for and coordinate services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. At that time, individuals weren’t very involved in any aspects of directing their own lives. As an advocate for person-centered practices, I started collecting and writing plain … Read more
What’s this all about? Your answers to these questions can help you put together a transition plan. A plan to help you reach the best possible future. The questions are written in the first person, so that the focus is always on you, the person in transition. You can use this in several ways: (1) … Read more
by Michael Smull and Mary Lou Bourne All people respond to their environment. Whether we are happy or miserable is largely determined by what surrounds us. For happiness or even simply contentment to exist, certain things must be present and other things must be absent. What happens when we don’t have control over what is present or absent? … Read more
Essential lifestyle plans are developed through a process of listening, learning and acting. In the pages that follow, you will find a collection of articles on how to do that in a responsible way. A way that supports people in living the good quality life they deserve. These are selected writings by Michael W. Smull on … Read more
Over the years, we have developed two documents that amounted to coffee table books. They were accepted for use by the funders, but seldom if ever used. Those documents are listed below. We encourage you to download and use in whatever manner you would like. They can be excerpted, adapted, or edited in any fashion … Read more