Dungarvin Wisconsin Welcomes John O’Brien, Advocate for Person Centered Planning

Supporting individuals with complex behavior support needs in community based settings is currently a hot topic in the Wisconsin long term care (LTC) system.

On-going, active discussions are occurring at all levels in the LTC system, including the Department of Health Services, Family Care organizations and counties all across the state. Because of our established expertise in successfully supporting complicated individuals in the community, Dungarvin Wisconsin is frequently invited to participate in these discussions.

Once such discussion occurred on April 9, 2014. Dungarvin Wisconsin was invited to attend a meeting involving key players in the LTC system in Dane County. Dungarvin Wisconsin was honored to not only participate in the meeting, but to host it at our Madison office. It was a small but illustrious group of attendees including DHS Restrictive Measures Lead Julie Shew, Dane County XX Monica Bear, and renowned author and Person-Centered Planning expert John O’Brien.

Wikipedia describes Mr. O’Brien as “a leading thinker who has written widely in the field of disability. He is a pioneer and lifelong advocate of Person Centered Planning. His values based approach emphasizes learning with each person about the direction their lives could take, challenging and overcoming practices, structures and values that lead to segregation and underestimation rather than inclusion, and an approach to change in people’s lives based on ‘imagining better’.” Along with his wife, Connie Lyle O’Brien, Mr. O’Brien has written countless articles and numerous books including A Little Book About Person Centered Planning, Make a Difference: A Guidebook for Person Centered Direct Support, and Implementing Person Centered Planning: Voices of Experience.

Mr. O’Brien is a gentle person, who exudes kindness, a profound depth of thought and an inspiring commitment to advocating for individuals with disabilities. He says this:

“Person centered planning begins when people decide to listen carefully and in ways that can strengthen the voice of people who have been or are at risk of being silenced. Person centered planning celebrates, relies on, and finds its sober hope in people’s interdependence. At its core, it is a vehicle for people to make worthwhile, and sometimes life changing, promises to one another.”

Inspiring, indeed, and a much needed perspective in discussions about supporting people with complex behavior support needs.