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| ICAN Home > Modules > Social Interventions | ||||||
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Person Centered Planning: Introduction
Both parents and teachers can get caught in the trap of looking at what the child can’t do and focusing primarily on acquisition of these areas of need. Although this is important it is only half the picture. As parents and educators we need to acknowledge and celebrate the successes as well as identifying areas of need. Most of us have acquired our career and personal interests based on skills that we had a natural inclination or ability for rather than developing or pursuing areas of personal weakness. Person centered planning or mapping guides us to take the same approach when looking at skill acquisition and the future for a child with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Person centered planning is a way of looking at the whole child and setting a course based on the information gathered in the process. Mapping challenges us to ask the why and how questions in addition to the what question. Person centered planning is a useful tool to be used as a way of developing a program for an individual with ASD. Creating a VisionPerson centered planning or mapping is a process that is used to develop a rich and meaningful life for an individual with a disability including ASD. The focus is on integrating the individual’s capacities, abilities, and interests through meaningful activities in the places they spend time, i.e., school, home, neighborhood. The process is utilized by a team to answer a series of questions that lead to the development of a vision for the person and a plan to actualize the vision. There are various models for person centered planning. Some examples are Lifestyle Planning (O’Brien & Lyle, 1987), Personal Futures Planning (Mount & Zwernick, 1988), McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) (Forest & Lusthaus, 1987), Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) (Pearpoint, O'Brien, & Forest, 1993) and Group Action Planning (Turnbull & Turnbull, 1996). The maps can also be created by a skilled facilitator to best support the team in moving in a direction that is positive for the individual. Lecture Content |
A child’s education is a journey where both the outcome and the
process need to be considered. How many of us would set off on a journey
without knowing where we were going or how to get there? That sense
of direction is sometimes lacking when developing a program or writing
an individualized education plan (IEP) for a student. Educators often
look at where the student is now and then do the next step in the curriculum.
The reasons why they should teach particular skills are sometimes not
addressed. Student’s goals often represent a series of steps
without a clear picture of the destination.