Person centred planning is not just the latest way of doing individual programme plans and assessments. It is a different way of seeing and working with all people with disabilities. It helps people with disabilities plan and organise their future in a more ordinary way.

Planning happens by using person centred planning tools, these include MAPS, PATH, Personal Futures Planning and Essential Lifestyle Planning. All of these tools have some things in common which are:

• The person is at the centre.
• Family members and friends are full partners.
• Reflects what is important to the person and their capacities.
• Specifies the support the person needs to make a valued contribution to their community.
• Builds a shared commitment.
• Leads to continual listening and learning about what the person want to get from their life.

For person centred planning to be successful people need to know how to use tools such as MAPS and PATH, these people are called facilitators. Facilitators can come from a wide variety of backgrounds including family members and self-advocates.

Person Centred Planning is a way for people with learning disabilities to plan for what they want now and in the future, with the people in their lives who they like and trust.

It is based on some values, which are:

• That everyone has a right to plan their own lives and be at the centre of any planning that is done for them
• That everyone has a right to be part of their community.
• That everyone has a right to live their lives as they want, and if they need support to do this for this support to be provided in a way in which they want it.

Anyone with a learning disability can have a person centred plan even if they have limited communication, as person centred planning is done in alliance with people who know and love them well, not just by professionals.

The government have said that person centred planning is the way forward and have written a white paper called Valuing People - A New Strategy for learning disabilities for the 21st Century (PDF 568Kb).

Want to know more?

"A Little Book about Person Centred Planning" by John O'Brien is available from www.inclusiononline.co.uk