Commentary from the Field
Person-Centered Approach in Action
Daniel Marshall, MSW
Quality Assurance Specialist, State of Washington
“Living the life you want to live” should be a key attitude for anyone that touches the lives of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Achieving this philosophy can be difficult; however, supporting individuals to direct their own lives leads to better outcomes. Providing services to help people achieve their goals (independence, travel, relationships) means that they are heard and their lives are truly valued. Remember that the individuals we work with must lead the way—so when sitting across the kitchen table from those we serve, the service approach “living the life you want to live” can help guide us on why we are here.
Carol Britton Laws, PhD, MSW, FAAIDD has been selected to chair the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities subcommittee of the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission.
Lauren Clark, PhD, had an essay, SB 258 IS A DREAM CRUSHER, published in the Disability Rights California’s Substack
Direct Support Workforce Solutions: A Guidebook of Strategies for Individual and Collective Action Toward Workforce Stability, is co-edited by Amy S. Hewitt and Susan O’Nell of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration.
Promoting Self-Determination: Building Community Supports is co-authored by Karrie A. Shogren and Evan E. Dean of the Kansas University Center on Disabilities.
Both books are available now from the AAIDD Bookstore at aaidd.org.
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