Community Living

I am Disabled: On Identity-First Versus People-First Language

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March 20, 2015 by Cara LiebowitzIn the United States, a linguistic movement has taken hold. People-first language is considered by many to be the most respectful and appropriate way to refer to those who were once called disabled, handicapped, or even crippled. Instead of disabled person, we are urged to say person with a disability. Instead of autistic person, we should say person … Read more

What Happens When You Pay for Your Own Services?

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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

Latest Issues of Resource Notes

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Resource Note #117 – Texas Gathering; HSA International Event; PCT Coordinator Opening; and 30 Years of Community Living: An ACL ReportResource Note #116 – Minnesota Gathering; HSA International Learning Event; World Café October 26th; and, 30 Years of Community Living: An ACL ReportResource Note #115 – Compassion @ work training from HSA; Imagine Film Festival; … Read more

Passage of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act

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It’s midnight and the California legislature is about to adjourn for the session. Can Art and his staff at the Assembly Office of Research act in time to pass the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act? Watch and see for yourself. Produced by NorthStar Services. Video crew was Claudia Bolton, Mary Eble, and Bill Allen.

Thinking About Support Broker Roles 

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 by Michael W Smull  As service systems increasingly embrace the principles and practices of self-determination and individual funding, people are looking at the roles of those who have been traditionally known as case managers or service coordinators. The expectations that many had of service coordinators in the late ’70s and early ’80s have been buried … Read more

Full inclusion and the value of students with severe disabilities 

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Michael W. Smull  How are these core values to be taught? Simply adding them to a curriculum will not work. These are values that are learned by being practiced. While occasional excursions to segregated settings may acquaint you with elders, or others who benefit from your gifts, the real lessons are learned from everyday experience. … Read more

SOLUTION CIRCLE

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Getting Unstuck A Creative Problem Solving Tool. This is a short and powerful tool that takes no more than a half hour. It is effective in getting “unstuck” from a problem in life or work. Solution Circles are tools of “community capacity”. It assumes and demonstrates that nearby people – in any community or work … Read more

Standing with Jon

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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

Listen to Me! (fillable pdf version)

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Listen to Me! 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 developed. Please make sure that you understand … Read more