Continued from page 1
3. Once
obvious problems have been resolved,
support team can move on to explore expanding
individual’s quality of life. Is
person satisfied with his or her living arrangement (who & where)? Does
person like his or her job? Is
person making enough income to support
lifestyle he or she wants? Does
person have hobbies or recreational activities to enjoy during free time? Are there any new skills (leisure or work related) that
person would like to learn? Does
person have satisfying relationships with friends & family? Are there any long term goals
person would like to start working towards? As issues are discovered they will fall into 2 categories: short term easily addressed issues & long term goals that will take several steps to reach. If Joe has an interest in music & would like to buy
latest compact disc by his favorite group – that’s a short-term issue. It is easily resolved as long as he has
money to purchase
CD & a CD player to play it on when he gets home. Your role may simply be to supply transportation to a local store or shopping mall. If, on
other hand, Joe wants to go to backpacking in
mountains on his next vacation – that’s a long-term goal. Your role will probably be to help Joe in a number of steps to get ready for his trip (saving
money needed, learning
skills needed to backpack in
mountains, finding a reliable tour group or hiking partners, building
stamina to vacation outdoors, etc. etc.). Our role is not say, “no problem – whatever you want”. Our role is to say, “that’s a great dream – here’s how we get there from here!”
Copyright 2000 Lisa Simmons

Lisa is the director of the Ideal Lives Project, providing practical support to special needs families & professionals. Visit on-line at http://www.ideallives.com or subscribe to her free newsletter at: mailto:ideallives-subscribe@topica.com