What do 'individualised' and 'person-centred' mean?

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"The key feature of Supported Living is that the whole ethos is Person Centred…The key feature about Supported Living is that no two people's lives or services are the same. In fact, no different to anyone else. In just the same way that who we live with and where we live is intensely personal to us, so it is with people with disabilities."
Kinsella P (2001). Supported Living. The Changing Paradigm - from control to freedom.

"One should never start with a building or staffing model. On the contrary, one should always start with the person and what they need before consideration is given to what model is likely to best address that person's specific needs."
Kendrick M. 2002. Housing and Support for People with "Challenging behaviour"; Some Guidance. Presentation for Disability Services Queensland And The Queensland Department Of Housing, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. March 11, 2002 - accessed at Kendrick Consulting.

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When a good idea gets popular, people start using the same words to mean other things. This gets confusing. One example is when people with disability hear about 'individualised' or 'person-centred' planning. When these words are used by a lot of people they start to lose some of their real meaning. These words are about putting the person with disability first. But sometimes they are used about services that do not really put the person with disability first.

• In supported living, the person is the most important thing.
• The person's life and the person's home are the most important for all planning.
• Planning starts with the person. The person's wishes, interests, needs and goals lead to supports being found that fit the person - read more.

 

This is different from a person having to fit into a service that is already there and cannot be changed to suit their needs. This is called a 'pre-existing' service. A pre-existing service may do an 'individual service plan' but it can not be person-centred in the way supported living is, because the person has to fit into what the service provides. Supported living gives the person a much better chance to develop and grow because the supports are made to suit the individual person.

'Individualised' is different from independent. Most people live their lives depending on each other for some things. This is because people are social. They have a social network of family, friends and other people they know. Supported living is about how a person can be supported naturally in their social network of family, friends, neighbours and community and what extra support they need to keep these relationships going.

 

Supported living is about planning for one person at a time.

Supported Living	Pre-existing models
Starts by listening to the person: what would they like? What do they need? How can they live in their community and belong?	Start with a system already in place, and the person must 'fit in'. The person's goals and needs are considered within this system.
The person's choices and goals guide all decision making (or their family, allies and advocates on their behalf).	The person may make some choices in their individual service plan about some things, but real choice and control are limited by the service's system.
The person having a home, living in and belonging to their community are the most important things for supported living. All supports are aimed to allow the person to achieve these goals.	The person's accommodation may be like a 'home' but they may have to live with people they did not have any choice about and they have to fit into the service provider's routines. They have to fit into their 'home' instead of their home fitting their own needs.
As the person's life, choices and needs change, supported living supports change to take into account the person's new goals. The person's support is separate from their housing.	Supports may be linked to the building the person lives in and they cannot be changed easily.

Read more

O'Brien, John (1995). Principles for developing individualised supports. TASH Newsletter Vol. 21, Issue 4 - Family Advocacy Inclusion Collection File: File: 10708.

Kendrick, Michael (2006). The Challenges of Authentically Getting What People Actually Need On A Person-By-Person Basis. A Keynote Presentation For The "One Person At A Time Conference" Sponsored By The Personal Lifestyles Assistance Project, Melbourne, Australia. August 17-18, 2006 - Kendrick Consulting.

Kendrick, Michael (2004). Creating the Right Conditions for "Thriving"; The place of a specific ecology for personalized initiatives for "small" people. Occasional Paper Series, Safeguards Initiative, CRU Publications, Brisbane. - Kendrick Consulting or the Family Advocacy Inclusion Collection File: 11156.

Betteridge, Jim (1995). Dreams turn to dust when we set up yet another 'service'. Community Living Volume 9 Number 1 - Family Advocacy Inclusion Collection File: File: 10676.

Carpenter, F (1997). Finding the Blind Spot. Crucial Times, March, 1997. Issue No. 8. p. 7 - Family Advocacy Inclusion Collection File: File: 10809.

Queensland Disability Housing Coalition (2005). A home of my own: right, rhetoric or reality? Sheet 9B 'What is personalised support?' p. 22

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