A Process for Creating Quality Lives En Español
When you become a parent, the world is full of new adventures. When your child experiences a disability, those adventures multiply. Relationships change, family support looks different, and the paperwork can be overwhelming.
Through it all, families seek to stay focused on their vision of the future for all their children. Keeping that focus – with your child at the center of decisions – is essential. One way to do that is through a process called person–centered planning. Person-centered planning is an exciting and empowering process! Family, friends, and invited, interested professionals gather to answer open-ended questions that lead to a vision for your child’s future.
FACT has partnered with Oregon Technical Assistance Corporation (OTAC) to offer workshops for families to learn about person-centered planning. During the workshop you will:
- Consider what your child does well
- Collect strategies for success
- Focus on the strengths and gifts of your child
With this information, you will create a plan for your child to begin building a positive and practical portrait of ability. It is a powerful way to communicate your child’s strengths, gifts, and capacity at IEP meetings.
Person-centered planning is useful in many situations and at all ages. It is helpful when considering the many transitions you will need to plan for in your child’s life: future school situations, jobs, and living situations – and it collects and documents strategies for success. This portrait is helpful when introducing your child to new caregivers, teachers, friends, and people in the community.
Past FACT-OTAC workshop participants said it helped them consider new ideas and possibilities for their children, replacing worry and despair with hope and dreams for the future. They were encouraged by having a vision in which their child’s disability was just a small part of the picture, allowing them to see their whole child, not a disability label.