Person centered planning has received much attention in the past as the effective method of meeting the diverse needs of people with disabilities. This study has focused on how communal structures can be aligned to help the disabled persons have a better-preferred future with the exploitation of their abilities and eliminating their weaknesses.
Person Centered Planning in People With Developmental Disabilities
Person centered planning has received much attention in the past as the effective method of meeting the diverse needs of people with disabilities. The person-centered planning takes into consideration the unique needs, choices, and preferences of individuals. The planning structure explores innovative ways applicable to improving the health and health outcomes of people living with disabilities. Features of the person centered approach like focusing on the partnership between society members; building shared commitment, developing learning activities, and providing support to facilitate the realization of the diverse needs of the disabled. The method uses flexible systems and approaches that accommodate the diverse priorities and interests of the disabled that are always under constant change (Holburn, 2002). The flexibility of the systems offers opportunities for partnership and support between the stakeholders involved in the provision of the person centered approach services. As such, person centered planning helps the disabled have a better-preferred future with the exploitation of their abilities, strengths, preferences, and elimination of their weaknesses and barriers that hinder effective provision of person centered planning services (Smith, Morgan, & Davidson, 2005).
Structure of the research paper
This research paper analyzes whether the person centered planning works in people with developmental disabilities. This aims at evaluating if the strategy helps those with a disability meet their unique and diverse needs of the society. In specific, the research will answer questions that include:
What impacts do person centered planning has on the life outcomes and experiences of people with developmental disabilities?
What are the benefits of the person centered planning for people with developmental disabilities?
What factors inhibit or facilitate the effectiveness of the person centered planning for people with developmental disabilities?
Cumulatively, the research paper will try to elucidate the impact of person-centered approach on the lives of the disabled alongside determining the factors affecting the approach.
Thematic review
Impacts of person centered planning on the life outcomes of people with a developmental disability
Person centered planning provides a means of assisting a person plan for the aspects of their lives. This enables them to become a key area of focus during the creation of plans to address issues affecting the disabled (Stankiewicz & Beaudet, 2007). Person centered planning uses different methods that help people with disability outline their needs, values, wishes, and goals. The approaches aim at empowering people to act in ways that support their challenge devaluation and social inclusion. The planning often targets inhuman social behaviors such as disempowerment, social exclusion, and devaluation that deprives the disadvantaged their fundamental rights (Sanderson, Thompson, & Kilbane, 2006).
Person centered planning uses processes that identify an individual's interest, strengths, goals, preferences, and desires. This influences the support services need to meet their health care, habilitation, and behavioral, strategic, and health care needs. The planning models combine a variety of skills, beliefs and knowledge that enables the disabled to engage in self-regulated and goal-oriented activities and contribute to their autonomy as evidenced by empirical research (Mansell, & Beadle-Brown, 2004). Traditionally, the disabled encounter the challenge of trying to fit into the existing services in the society. They played little role in designing and deciding on the nature of the services they received. The endorsement of the person-centered planning eliminated and reduced the efficiencies seen in the previous client-centered approaches.
According to the Council of Social Services in Australia, person centered approaches provide the disabled with choice and control over their life-related decisions. This promotes independent access to community/national resources, which translates to their diverse access to support systems within and outside the community (Arscott, Dagnan, & Kroese, 1999). A structured person centered approach improves and mainstreams life of those with developmental disabilities. The approaches focus on their inclusive participation, rights, and dignity in the community life. Holistic objectives set by the disabled serves as an effective tool for preventing premature institutionalization thereby resulting in social sustainability and participation (McMillan, 2004).
A longitudinal study conducted by Sanderson, Thompson, and Kilbane, (2006) sought to determine the costs and effectiveness of person centered planning on the lives of the disabled individuals. It found that the strategy increased social networking; contact with the family members, community-based activities performed by the disabled, and increased the number of hours each of the participants dedicated to social activities. Out of the ninety-three participants with developmental disabilities, fifty-two percent reported increased involvement in social work while forty percent reported the levels at which they contacted their friends. Besides, thirty percent reported an increase in social activity engagement while thirty-three percent reported an increased number of hours engaged in scheduled day activities. In addition to these, the study showed that the participants were perceived as at risk 1.5 times at home or places of work. However, the study found out that person-centered approach did not have any significant impact on the number of health problems facing the disabled. Therefore, the study concluded that person centered planning improves the social well-being of the disabled, but had little effect on the health status and consequences of the individuals.
The study also aimed at determining the effect of the costs associated with the introduction of the person centered planning on the life outcomes of those with developmental disabilities. The study found out that; most participants found costs associated with the provision of person centered services to be relatively neutral. As such, they found the person centered planning as being effective and efficacious in improving the lives of people living with developmental disabilities. From the study, eighty-seven percent of the participants perceived personal centered planning approaches as effective in improving their life outcomes. Essentially, therefore, this study supported the fact that person centered planning improves the life outcomes of people with developmental disabilities (Thompson & Kilbane, 2006).
Person centered planning uses approaches that have three key distinctions that influence the learning and lives of the disabled. It strives to consider capacities and aspirations expressed by those consuming the services. This emphasis helps pinpoint the perceived contribution of the members of society in influencing the goals and objectives of the plan. Secondly, the person centered approach attempts to recognize the need for the inclusion of the disabled family and the wider social network in mobilizing and utilizing the allocated resources. This premise partly shows that taking into consideration the roles of the family and the larger social network results in an enhanced system of social services care to the disadvantaged. Thirdly, person centered planning aims at facilitating the realization of the needs of the disabled rather than limiting the goals, thereby influencing the life outcomes of the disadvantaged. This implies that the provision of adequate support to the disabled increases their capabilities to execute activities that contribute positively to their lives (Cambridge, & Carnaby, 2005).
Holburn and Vietze, (2002) identified that person centered planning plays a role in delivering states key principles that include independence, inclusion, choice, and rights. The scenario often results in the prioritization of attention and the management of the allocated resources. A study conducted on a residential area for the disabled by Bradshaw (2001) found out that people with intellectual disabilities face severe problems that impede their establishment and maintenance of social relationship. This results in poor realization of the goals and objectives of the person centered approach and their overall well-being. Out of the 102 participants who took part in the study, sixty-three percent had impaired social interaction, forty-three percent had significant communication challenges, thirty-five percent with severe challenging behavior.
These factors present severe challenges to both the service providers and the community. Of the participants, forty-six percent reported incidences of staff misconception of their feelings and ideas due to their inability to interpret their needs. Seventy eight percent of the staff involved in the provision of care to these individuals reported difficulties in understanding the needs of their clients since most of them relied on verbal communication. However, introduction of person centered planning reversed the trend as seventy-five percent of the adult patients reported reduced incidences of the information misinterpretation while eighty-two percent of the caregivers reported improved ability to understand the needs of their clients. The remaining four percent of those who felt no change because of the person centered planning represented a negligible population.
Surprisingly, many people with developmental disabilities experience social isolation despite the introduction of the person centered planning (Sanderson, & Lewis, 2012). Empirical research conducted on disadvantaged people living in residential areas often showed extremely low levels of their meeting with other people, especially with similar profound developmental disabilities. Social networks of such individuals are extremely restricted by the family members and staff. Prolonged isolation of people with developmental disabilities results in poor socialization and poor maintenance of relationships among them Gates & Atherton, 2007).
Person centered planning uses language of reciprocity, community, and mutual benefits. However, in the sense of close-knit, establishing a mutually supportive environment in the community is far from reality than in rhetoric as shown by sociological studies. There is almost lack of evidence of the effectiveness of the person centered planning as compared to other planning models (Sanderson, & Lewis, 2012). The evidence provided by numerous studies on its effectiveness relies on desirability and commentaries of the method used. As such, activities such as active involvement of the necessary stakeholders are important in facilitating the realization of planning desirability and commentaries that lead to the efficiencies reported by studies (Mansell, 2006).
Evaluation of different studies on the effectiveness of person centered planning shows that activities such as providing individual planning, arranging for care management and collaborative approaches in care provision improves the lives of the disabled. From the evaluation done by Arscott, Dagnan, and Kroese, (1999), twenty-five percent of the participants who used individual centered plans reported a high level of improvement in their social lives (seventy-six percent). This was in terms of maintenance of social relationships, networking and engaging in social activities. Participants in care management reported sixty-eight percent satisfactions with person-centered planning and sixty-three percent of those involved in the collaborative care provision to people with developmental disabilities. Cumulatively, the evaluation showed that person centered planning has a positive impact on the life and health needs of people with developmental disabilities.
Person centered planning improves learning and learning outcomes among the physically disadvantaged. The model prioritizes the disabled. This results in the promotion of change among them as they engage in capacity building and social activities that influence their learning. Enhancement of the process that enables the disabled to assess a wider range of activities such as embracing collaborative learning thereby, improves learning outcomes. Through this, the disabled acquire the abilities to maximize the prevailing conditions (Bakken et al. 2008). Enhanced social relationships promote the development of positive relationships while social support structures influences the performance among the physically disabled individuals. The approaches of person centered planning ensures co-production that promote active involvement of the community and create an understanding of the different ways of measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of the instructions provided (Sanderson, & Lewis, 2012).
According to Goldsmith, Skirton, and Webb, (2008), person centered approaches enhances learning among students with developmental disabilities by providing a simulative learning environment that increases their motivation for learning. The approaches used to promote their inclusion in activities that contribute to the well-being of the society. Apart from this, the approach promotes the inclusion of the physically disadvantaged students in social networking and community building activities translating its effects to their capabilities to establish and maintain positive relationships. Consequently, this results in their greater satisfaction with the social activities and outcomes that improve their learning and life achievement (Thompson, & Kilbane, 2006).
Person centered planning approaches uses collaborative approaches that encourage a person centered thinking. This promotes social and individual change because of the acquisition of insights on the factors that influence the life outcomes of the people living with developmental disabilities (McMillan, 2004). As stated by Mansell, & Beadle-Brown, (2004), person centered planning promotes the creation of a framework that creates avenues for effective establishment of relationships and social networks for the disabled. This makes the disabled and services providers feeling appreciated. It also motivates them to seek alternative solutions for improving their services and maximizing the prevailing opportunities for satisfactory life outcomes.
However, it is appreciable that the success of a person centered planning is highly dependent on the strategies employed. Activities such as creating awareness among the community members and their active involvement form the main ingredients of ensuring the success. As a result, it is recommended that the stakeholders involved take into consideration the needs and demands of the disabled and the community to achieve the desired planning goals and objectives (Stankiewicz & Beaudet, 2007).
Benefits of the person centered planning
While the above analysis has shown the various ways where the person-centered approach improves an individual's life, the impacts vary significantly across the different domains of the disabled quality of life (Bradshaw, 2001). Research shows that the nature of the benefits witnessed relies on the ways in which variables such as involvement, collaboration, and social networking used in the planning process. The variance in the results from these researches implies the need for studies to determine the sources of weaknesses and policy improvements required to ensure sustainability and promotion of health among the disabled. Person-centered planning enables the service providers to collect utilizable resources for improving the outcomes of the disabled people in the society. The plan does not ignore the effects of disability, but in turn shifts the emphasis on searching for capacity from those of help in the society for the disabled (Robertson et al., 2006).
The models used in person-centered approach empowers and encourages people to make decisions independently while seeking support from friends and family to help them attain the set goals. This strengthens the relationship between groups and facilitates sharing of ideas on ways of improving the care provided to the disabled. Ultimately, this results in the empowerment through the provision of opportunities to take control over their lives. The approaches used often empower individuals with the disability. This is attributable to the effectiveness of approaches such as lifestyle planning, action planning, and individual service planning that promote process thinking, which makes the disabled feel appreciated in the society (Sanderson, Thompson, & Kilbane, 2006).
Providing person-centered planning implies treating other people in the society with respect and dignity. This contributes to their empowerment as they receive support required for setting and realizing their personal goals. It is appreciable that person centered planning recognizes that the disabled have the right to make sound choices, and become responsible for their actions and risks. As a result, this builds on their strengths, skills, talents, and their contributions in developing desired strategies for ensuring the realization of their unique goals and strategies. Families involved in the provision of person centered care report that person centered tools such as the person centered thinking helps them build their thinking capacities. This helps them develop plans used for accessing services and support for the disabled (Robertson et al., 2006).
In addition, research conducted among the families, providing patient centered care end up developing effective communication skills important for expressing themselves to other professionals. The collaborative approaches used are helpful in building confidence needed for taking initiatives, risks, and uncertainties in their day-to-day living. Sociological analysis reveals that the approach provides community members with the desired skills of providing care for the disabled. Involvement of the society members in taking action in developing strategies of the person planning equips them with the desired knowledge and contributes to their empowerment. This ensures sustainability of the designed programs aimed at helping the disabled meet their goals and feel part of the society (Holburn, 2002).
People with development disabilities can benefit immensely from the person-centered planning. It provides them with the abilities to have control over the decisions of their lives. Efforts such as engaging them in social activities and providing them with responsibility in their actions provide them with abilities to control their lives. The approach provides the disabled with opportunities to express themselves in the society. This provides them with hope in life as they get opportunities to be heard and their needs valued (Goldsmith, Skirton, & Webb, 2008).
Analysis of the long-term benefits of the person centered planning show that it builds confidence among the disabled and enhances their access to the available resources. Research conducted by Rutter (2005) evaluated the perceived benefits of personal planning. Results revealed that seventy-eight percent of the 123 people with disability reported enhanced self-confidence, improved access to community resources, and protection of their human rights. The same study showed that seventy-two percent of the participants reported improved social well-being in terms of social networking, establishing and maintaining relationships, increased total hours in engaging in social work and improved access to and utilization of the community resources.
A study conducted to determine the incidences of mental health related illnesses among the disadvantaged individuals provided with person-centered care revealed a significant effect of the approach. The study found out that people with disabilities lacking the person-centered care were three times at a risk of developing mental-related illnesses at one point of their lifetime unlike those using the approach. In specific, individuals who do not receive person-centered care have a high risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and committing suicide. Among the factors identified to be contributing to the mental problems, include social isolation, rejection, violation of their rights, and lack of access to community resources (Bradshaw, 2001).
When person centered planning is applied in an organization, it establishes and sustains the organizational culture rooted in the principles of community and family involvement, collaborative decision-making, and protection of the rights of the disabled in the society. If the organization engages in the provision of person centered planning, it will create an effective environment that supports the members of the community, who will in turn support the disabled in facilitating realize their diverse life needs. Modeling the person centered strategies in an organization increases the likelihood of the introduction of new practices of providing and supporting the disabled in the society (Bakken et al. 2008).
However, the benefits associated with the person-centered planning vary depending on the condition and extent of one's suffering. In most cases, people with emotional or mental, behavioral problems are less likely to benefit from the plan if not involved and provided by the plan. Besides, those with autism are 1.5 times less likely to receive the care plan and benefit from the plan as compared with those with disabilities. Women with disabilities are likely to benefit from the principles of the care plan (two times higher) compared to men with similar conditions. The presence of social support such as a care manager or help from family members increases the potential achievement of the goals of the disadvantaged. This is achieved via social networking, engaging in community-based initiatives, and establishing relationships as compared to those who receive restricted social support (Stankiewicz & Beaudet, 2007)
Factors that inhibit or facilitate the effectiveness of person centered approach in improving the life outcomes in people with developmental disabilities
Person centered planning is much more complex process contrary, as it seems on the surface. The rhetoric of its benefits is fast mastered, but its complexity and implications should be understood so that the successful implementation of the strategies can be attained. The process creates challenges across the board to those affected by developmental disabilities, the caregivers, the society, services providers, and the healthcare providers. The effectiveness and efficiency of the person centered planning relies on changing the nature and functioning of the organizational structures, service funding and practices. The decision is always complex and monumental to many of the organizations providing person centered services. As such, this forms a block that hinders the achievement of the objectives of the person centered planning adopted by people with developmental disabilities.
Stankiewicz and Beaudet, (2007) identified that existing community policies often conflict with the philosophy and approaches of the person centered planning. The planning demands complex and radical review of the policies of service delivery resulting in a shift of power and social stability. This poses a significant barrier to the realization of the goals of the person centered planning since most find it difficult to adopt change and abandon the behaviors used to in the past. Organizational factors also play a role in influencing the achievement if the objectives of the person centered approach. Among the factors, include facilitator commitment, nature of planning adopted by the management team, the nature of the teamwork employed and the extent of employee involvement in the process (Smith, Morgan, & Davidson, 2005).
Facilitator commitment towards achieving the strategies of the person-centered approach contributes to the success of the approach. It is a powerful tool for acquiring the necessary support from the stakeholders and the physically challenged individuals. The presence of facilitators who consider planning as their formal function contributes to the success of the person centered planning. Planning will be effective when the participants are dedicated into spending their time to plan for the process. Research conducted to determine the effectiveness of the approach shows that involving facilitators and all the stakeholders including the disabled to achieve the desired goals is an effective and efficient strategy (Sanderson, Thompson, & Kilbane, 2006).
Failure of the organizations to adopt effective methods of responding to the needs of the disabled acts as a barrier to the realization of the planning goals and objectives. This leads to the provision of services that do not meet the needs of the targeted population. Some service providers fail to include the families and the advocates alongside the disadvantaged during the provision of training opportunities. This leads to low acceptance of the program due to low level of awareness among the key consumers to their expectations and behaviors. A service provider can develop effective strategies but fail to achieve its goals due to misappropriation of the allocated resources. This results in partial realization of the person centered goals and objectives (Rutter, 2005).
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