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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
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
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 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 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
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
In his book The Great Good Place, Oldenburg writes about what he refers to as “Third Places,” those places in every community where locals gather to visit, share news and be among others. Such places are a great spot to meet the neighborhood “connectors” (those people who know everyone else) and to assist someone to … Read more
Written by Michael W. Smull in 1995, this article outlines the importance of updating a person centered plan after it’s written. The original article can be downloaded here. A summary checklist based on the article can be downloaded here. Learning how people want to live and then doing nothing with the information is a form … Read more
by the Harvard Project on Disability (www.hpod.org) Welcome to the power of human rights. This book is for people with developmental disabilities. You can use it to learn about your rights. You can also use it to talk with others about your rights. When you speak up for yourself, you are a self-advocate. When you work … Read more
Researchers and people who provide services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are shifting from “fixing problems” to helping people live full lives. That means more focus on rights, participation, and supports that help people make their own choices. At the same time, there are big advances in genetics and technology, new ways to … Read more