What is Person Centered Action?

Person Centered Action is the collective term for a variety of approaches used to get to know the person. develop an understanding of what they want now, what they want the future to look like, and set priorities for change. It is a process of learning about the person; who they are, what’s happened to them, what’s important to them, what they like and dislike and what they want from life. It involves helping them to plan for the future they desire. It is not about’ fixing’ the person but beginning the process of bringing people together to solve problems, build and grasp opportunities, influence communities and change organizations . This takes place over a period of time and although it usually begins with an initial meeting, this is the start of the journey not the end of the process.

Person Centered Action is not just a new planning style and it is very important to understand this, one of the concerns of applying person centered ideas within the ‘service system’ is that the system will take out the goodness of it, and we will be left with just another planning tool that works more for the advantage of the system than it does for the person.

Values and Principles:

To understand that the way we engage and work with people is the most essential ingredient to your work.

To understand that person centered means that we always see the person first. It means that what happens is always driven by the person first.

To understand that person centered approach should mean that a relationship based on understanding and respect will have produced better information in regards to how the supported person wishes to lead their life in all aspects of daily living, future hopes and dreams.

To understand that in Person Centered Action we can share in the telling of each other’s inner story, and so share in creating ourselves and each other.

Person Centre Action is guided by five signs of quality:

• The person is at the Centre
• Family members and friends are partners in planning
• The plan reflects what is important to the person, their capacities, and what support they require
• The plan helps build the person’s place in the community and helps the community to welcome them. It is not just about services, and reflects what is possible, not just what is available
• The plan results in ongoing listening, learning and further action. Putting the plan into action helps the person to achieve what they want out of life.

The Person Centered Action approach is to see how service providers may go about creating more valued social roles and enhanced life experiences for people.

The framework for establishing this is in The Five Accomplishments for all PCA outcomes:

• People being present in community alongside other people- often people with disabilities are separated by location , activities and schedules .The community challenge here is to include all people and this be accomplished by supporting shared use of a growing number of ordinary settings.
• People having choice and autonomy- often the experiences of a person with a disability are that choices are limited by having few options, a limited say and no exit. The challenge to the community here is in the creative resolution of conflicts and this will be accomplished by protecting rights and promoting autonomy- organizing help as needed to increase people’s opportunities to control their own situations.
• People developing competence- People can be prevented from developing due to vicious circles and lack of expectation, deteriorating ability and low levels of contribution. The challenge is to develop all people’s resources and this will be accomplished by improving competency, supporting people to discover and improve their abilities.
• People being respected and having valued social roles- Traditionally people with a disability have suffered poor treatment and a lack of respect generally; the community challenge is seeing how we can get to know the person. This will be accomplished by improving status and reputation by way of providing needed help in the most positive way possible, avoiding association with negative images and modeling positive interaction with people.
• People developing in relationships- people with disabilities are likely to experience few and restricted relationships, isolation, loneliness and a loss of connections. The community challenge is interdependence brought about by community participation and protecting existing relationships and promoting positive connections with a growing number of valued people.

The five accomplishments can in turn be linked to our strategic priorities with which all staff performances are measured by.

At the heart of PCA is to create a sense of communities based on co-operation and interdependence, where everyone is seen as having a contribution to make and where people’s differences are acknowledged and valued.

Person Centered Action is based on the belief that people with disabilities are entitled to the same rights, opportunities and choices as other members.

In PCA we have to find ways of keeping the person at the Centre of the planning process and whatever is needed to enable the person to participate fully as possible.
　

Once a year we shall have a Person Centered Action (PCA) week.  The PCA weeks will involve service- users, parents, professionals and staff.

This is an opportunity for service users and parents to assess and evaluate the progress/aim/goal/pathway achieved by service-users. It is a chance for staff to find out more about the needs and wishes of the service-users... All in all it is a time of reflection for all us.

　

Below are some of the key features:

• Service-users to evaluate the Programme over the last year: What did they like/dislike about the Programme ; was it useful/interesting/ boring etc
• Parents to assess where their children’s future needs to be directed. Is the Programme equipping their children with real life skills/ work opportunities/ further education etc ?
• Staff to see what aims and goals have been achieved. What needs to be reviewed, what new goals to be set? Are we enabling these young adults to achieve their potential?
• Staff with members, parents and professionals to set new aims and goals for each service user