Excerpted from Chapter 2 of Transition Assessment: Wise Practices for Quality Lives, by Caren L. Sax, Ed.D., & Colleen A. Thoma, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2002 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Person-centered planning can be a powerful process.... I still remember when, as a relatively new teacher, I attended a school district seminar about building circles of friends around students with disabilities and then enlisting these new friends to help plan for the future. The practice of inclusive education was still new at that time, and the idea of helping students with significant disabilities identify and connect with their peers without disabilities presented different and awesome challenges. The examples of futures planning meetings that were provided in the seminar all sounded too scripted and idealistic and the quotes from young people engaged in the process sounded too good to be real. I was sure that the stories were greatly embellished. Several years later, when conducting my first person-centered planning meeting, I discovered that the stories were true.

The following descriptions of person-centered futures planning meetings illustrate ways to discover valuable assessment information about students facing transition. Each story has common threads that are essential components for creating positive action plans. These themes will be revisited throughout the book, as they are keys for a quality adult life.

Joanne Blazes the Trail

Joanne and her family were considered trailblazers in their community. As a young child in the 1970s, Joanne accompanied her sisters as they met and educated the neighbors about Down syndrome. Joanne was enrolled in the first preschool program offered for children with disabilities in the school district. She attended elementary and middle schools in the neighborhood, where she met students with and without disabilities even though she was based in a special education classroom. By the time she entered high school, times had changed, and she attended general education classes, making friends with many students on campus. Joanne’s parents were very active in the school district as well as in the local center that provided services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Joanne was interested in a variety of activities, including dating and going to baseball games, movies, restaurants, and dances. She also had some definite ideas about her future.

I met Joanne and her family the year before Joanne was to graduate from high school. Her mother served as the school district parent liaison to inform families about services that were available to students who were transitioning into adult life. After getting to know Joanne and her family, I decided to help them organize a MAPS meeting to identify supports and resources that could enable Joanne to realize her dreams for the future.

Joanne made up the guest list with some advice from her parents. They hosted the meeting at their home, inviting friends, family, and assorted professionals to join in one of their traditional potluck dinners. This environment set the tone of the evening, raising the comfort level of all the participants but particularly for Joanne who was clearly pleased in her role as hostess. Joanne was typically quiet and did not necessarily enjoy being the center of attention, so this environment suited her well. The walls were cleared to make room for the large sheets of butcher paper on which the notes from her meeting were recorded.

We used the standard format, recording Joanne’s history, places and activities she enjoyed, choices made by Joanne and those made for her, things that were working (i.e., that were motivating and interesting) and things that were not (i.e., that were boring, frustrating, or upsetting), and her dreams. An action plan was designed to identify specific tasks to be done by people who attended the meeting, along with a timeline for both short-term and long-term goals. Most of the information gathered that night went directly into Joanne’s IEP, providing clear direction for her activities.

A series of potluck meetings were held during the next few years as Joanne exited the school district, enrolled in community college courses, worked at several jobs, and dated at least two different men. She eventually moved into an apartment with her sister and her nephew where she began hosting her own potluck dinners to continue the family tradition. Joanne decided when she wanted to have people gather to help with major decisions. The guest list changed over the years and the process became increasingly informal. Joanne was truly living her dreams and taught friends and professionals alike a great deal about the power of person-centered planning. She learned to be more assertive in expressing her opinions and preferences. When she asked for advice, she listened to others but also followed her own heart and mind in making decisions.

The success of Joanne’s meetings demonstrates the importance of context and choosing the appropriate participants in the process; that is, those who listen more than talk and who withhold judgment when necessary. Joanne’s story also illustrates the importance of planning over a number of years. With each new meeting, Joanne was able to exert more control over the guest list, focus for discussion, and tone of the meeting. She continued in the role of a trailblazer, demonstrating self-determination before ever hearing the term.