Person Centered Thinking

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

A Plan is Not an Outcome

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by Michael W. Smull Person centered planning is our label for learning how people want to live, to learn what is important to them in everyday life and to discover how they might want to live in the future. However, a plan is not an outcome. The only reason to do the planning is to … 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

The California Gatherings “Express” Resource Board

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Resource content, training, and webinars from current and past California Gatherings newsletters and resource notes, national and statewide gatherings and and a variety of websites. Focusing on person centered services and support. We welcome your posts under any of these topics, please sent your items to allenbill@mac.com. Main Page Person Centered Thinking, Practices, and Planning Training … Read more

Foundational Writings

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Michael Smull, Susan Burke Harrison, John and Connie Lyle O’Brien , Beth Mount, Marsha and Jack Pearpoint and others have written about person-centered thinking, planning, and services and supports for some time. We consider their work from the 1980s to today to be foundational and want to make sure that they’re not lost. We have … Read more

A Workbook for Your Personal Passport

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This workbook is for people with developmental disabilities and their friends and families who want to learn more about person-centered planning. This workbook is for people with developmental disabilities and their friends and families who want to learn more about person-centered planning. When you’re finished filling it out, you can take it to your next … Read more

It’s My Choice!

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It’s My Choice The 2017 edition of It’s My Choice has been updated and is now available.  The content reflects 21st Century language and thinking about services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities; and the format is designed for easier navigation and to improve usability.  The concept and principles of person centered planning are interwoven throughout.  The … 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