Programs & Services > Options > Person-Centred Planning > Life plan

Tools for Person-Centred Planning

How to develop a Life Plan:

Developing a Life Plan for your loved one should take into account their strengths, the important people in their life, the supports that are already available in your home or within your community, and what things are really missing in your son/daughter's life. The following offers a guideline for writing an individualized life plan for your son/daughter.

LIFE PLAN

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Write a brief profile of your son or daughter's:

skills, abilities, interests
barriers, challenges
likes, dislikes
communication ability
home life
medical health (if relevant)

B. Identify the important people in your son or daughter's life:

create a map or chart of your son's/daughter's relationships (family, friends, paid or volunteer support providers) including how often they see each other, what things they do together, and the kind of relationship they have.
create a map or chart showing how your child would like it to look in the future.

C. Identify the supports in your son or daughter's life:

what supports are currently in place?
what critical supports are lacking?
what other supports are lacking that would be nice to have?
what changes would your child like to make in terms of how she/he is supported.

D. Describe what your son or daughter's life is like now and any changes he/she would like to make in the future:

where does your son or daughter live now and where does he/she want to be living down the road?
who does he/she want to be living with? - what can he/she do on his/her own at home?
what is your son or daughter not able to do on his/her own at home?
what does he/she do in terms of education/work/activities?
what would he/she like to be doing in terms of learning new things, having a job, volunteering, etc.?
create a map or chart of the places your son or daughter spends time outside of the home (indicating how often, how involved, how enjoyable that time is)
create a map or chart showing how he/she would like it to look in the future.

II. THE VISION

Based on the desired changes you've identified for your son or daughter, describe how you would like his/her life to look like in a year from now, five and ten years from now.

III. THE ACTION PLAN

A. What needs to happen to make that vision a reality?

looking at options and choices
identifying the types of support and assistance needed
identifying tasks

B. Who is going to do what? (support, coordination, scheduling, etc)

identifying timelines

C. What changes will tell us that the plan is working?

think in terms of what results you'd like to see happen

D. How will the plan be reviewed? How often? By whom?

To reach a program facilitator, call 416-971-6326 ext. 224 or e-mail anavi@familyservicetoronto.org

If you would like to receive service from Options, please call us at 416-971-6326