The answer to the last part of this question is ‘kind of”., but let’s start with what Person-Centered Planning really is.

Person-Centered Planning is just that and places the individual at the center of what is being done. More than just words, Windmill will genuinely focus on what the person wants to do with their life, where/if they want to work, where they want to live, who they want to live with (if anyone), etc. Using a person-centered model, Windmill will take the time to truly understand who someone is and how to best support their dreams. We do not judge the goals as unrealistic or try to persuade someone to have a different goal. Instead, we try to understand the reason behind the stated goal and how best to support them to get as close as possible to making it a reality. For example, becoming a doctor may not happen, but they might be able to work in a hospital or medical center, or they may simply want to do something in which they are helping people. Someone may say that they want to live in their own apartment. While that may not happen right away, we can determine what supports are needed to eventually make that a reality. Unfortnately, what frequently happens is that while there is discussion around what someone wants, they invariably are maneuvered back to a traditional program model. Windmill works diligently to discover someone’s dream and map out an action plan to get them on their journey.

PATH stands for Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope. PATH is a tool to assist someone to visualize their future, how they want it, and with the help of a circle of support, work backwards through time to begin make it a reality. At the end of the process, the group is left with actionable, achievable first steps. The plan is updated every few months, in order to check in on how people are doing and chart the next steps in someone’s journey.

Personal Futures Planning is another form of person-centered planning, which uses various charts to “map” out what someone would like their life to be. There are different maps that are created, beginning with one that answers the question, Who Is______? We then move on to developing a relationship map, which will indicate who the people are in someone’s life and may be counted on to support them. From there we focus on a positive living environment, a positive work environment, an overview of someone’s community so that we get to know what is available for someone to access. Similarly to a PATH process, Futures Planing ends with actionable, achievable first steps, and is also updated every few months.

At Windmill we use two tools to chart a future for a company (for profit, or non-profit). First is a PATH as described previously, but instead of a person at the center, we help you to design what you want the company to become in the future.

Another tool is called SWOT, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. With this tool, we collectively chart out the strengths of a company, the areas that need improvement, the opportunities available that can be taken advantage of, and the current threats to the business. It should be noted that these two tools are frequently used together, as SWOT helps the planning team to better understand the landscape they are operating in, and PATH is used to map out the journey to get where they want to be.

Windmill uses an ABA style approach to determine the best way to fully include someone (*note: this is not formal ABA, but is based on those techniques) . We begin by observing the student for a few days. In conjunction with administering a skills assessment to determine where someone’s skills are currently at (not present, emerging, age appropriate, etc.). Simultaneously, we will review all relevant documentation, interview staff and family, and then examine the curricula that the class is using. Armed with all of this information, we work with the teacher to develop an alternative version of solo activities, or to assign the student an achievable role within group activities. Windmill will then stay to assist in the implementation, and train staff as needed. *It is important to know that the process for true inclusion takes time to be done correctly. Please plan on someone being there for 1-2 weeks.