how person centred planning changed my life
DESCRIPTION
One mans version of how person centred planning made a huge difference to one mans life.TRANSCRIPT
How Person Centred Planning Changed My Life
Alexander Warren
Superb graphics curtsy of Helen of EDG
Me at 15 years old
• I was at a Special Needs School and worried about my future.
• I wanted to do a mainstream drama course, but didn’t know how to get there (in truth I had no real acting skills).
• I wanted to be independent.• The school was encouraging me to do an
“extension course”, which I didn’t want to do (Some of my friends did extension courses and they thought they were a waste of time. It's just a place to put them for another 2 years.)
My Frustrations
• Mainstream Kids can choose there own courses, whereas special needs kids are pushed towards a limited set of options.
• Special needs teachers are so frightened of us failing that they don't give us anything challenging.
• How do they expect us to work hard at something we don't want to do?
My Person Centre Plan
• EDG came to the School and explained about person centred planning, then offered it to any of the older kids in the school.
• I volunteered and they did a person centred plan for me with a group of my family, my teachers and my friends.
• There were various parts :- “My Story”, “Who is Alexander”, “My Dreams”, “My Nightmares”, “What is Needed Now” and “Action Plan”
“My Story”
• This was the first time ever I’d gone through all my life.
• We all realised that it was a big achievement to get where I was at the time. (When I was 1 year old a doctor said I would never walk, talk, read or write)
• Everyone in the room had felt the experience was quite moving.
• Before that meeting I was pretty down about myself, suddenly I thought I could achieve anything.
“Who is Alexander?”
• I felt really warm because everyone said nice things about me, like – " brave "– "incredibly honest "– "tremendously empathetic" .
“My Dreams”
• This was where I could express my wildest dreams, without anyone saying they were unrealistic.
• Some of my dreams were:– going to acting school– a loving relationship– travelling on the bus on my own– going to town on my own to look around the
shops or meet friends.
“My Nightmares”
• They included :-– being homeless – not having any friends – a boring job
“My What’s Needed Now” and “My Action Plan”
• These steps looked at the first steps towards my dreams.– Everyone was finally listening to me– I had a way forward towards something I
wanted to do.
The Next 2 Years• At College I did a pathways art course, a
pathways drama course and a mainstream drama course.
• I started catching a bus to college on my own (a complicated route, changing buses at Princes Street).
• I was also catching the bus into town to look around the shops and meet my friends.
... and Now• I regularly present my experiences to others
with EDG as part of their “The Big Plan” course.
• I’ve also worked with Enable as part of their course.
... and there’s more• I’m now doing a mainstream drama course at
Carnegie College. I passed the 1st year and I'm now in my 2nd year.
• I have a girlfriend.
Person Centred Planning has changed my life around
• It allowed me to express myself, sometimes with ideas I didn't even know I had.
• It got me out of the rut that was special needs and extension courses.
• It got me excited about my future and my prospects.
• It got me trying harder to achieve my goals, rather than just going through the motions of life.
• It gave me masses of confidence.