Pathways to Planning
This is families supporting other families and people with a disability to plan a desirable future and design action steps to move toward that future. This is a valuable and practical way to look at a vision for the future and write down ways of taking action that sees people with a disability being part of their community and to negotiate supports.
Families have told us that by having family facilitators assisting them in the process, they feel supported, feel secure in sharing their dreams and have confidence in the skills of the facilitation. They also report feeling empowered by the process and having more hope and certainty for the future.
Parent to Parent provides two types of planning and all of these focus on the gifts, capacities and strengths of people with a disability.
Futures planning:
(a) Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope
(b) Pathways to Possibilities
Essential Lifestyle Planning is a way to support a person on a day to day basis, with a focus of what is most important to the person, and their health and safety needs.
Planning can be valuable during times of life transitions. Plans can enable a person with a disability to be assisted in the way that best suits them, particularly where the person has paid assistance.
The information in a plan can become a basis for a request for proposals from a service provider, and can be incorporated into a contract between the person/family and the service provider. From the family perspective, the plans give clear information about the emotional and practical needs of how the person needs to be supported and how this is expected to happen. Plans are also helpful for families, they do not have to tell the story over and over again.
Planning alone will not provide outcomes for the individual, rather it is designed to facilitate a secure and effective base for assistance.
Families have found there are different ways to plan that suits them best. These can be as individual; as a family; family and close friends; a parent with the assistance of others; in a small group of family, friends, professional and community members.
Or – in small groups of parents/family who come together to support each other. This can be very productive, families sharing their knowledge, wisdom and creativity with other families can be valuable and inspiring