Person-Centered Planning and Profiles

Profile Page Front (I covered our personal contact info. with a graphic just for this post.)

Profile Page Back

Over the summer I stumbled across someone's post about person-centered planning, which I had never before heard of. It was specifically in regards to special needs individuals. They are also called one-page profiles. Basically, this is a one-page (single or double-sided) profile about your loved one with special needs. It can contain any information you feel would be important to know about them if you were going to be working with or hanging out with them. You can give it to principals, new teachers, therapists, babysitters, other parents, doctors, etc... 

We all know that each child is unique in and of themselves, but even more so when they have exceptional needs that set them apart from their peers. You never know when the color of your shirt, the temperature of the room, the dog barking outside, or asking them to read you a sentence or work an addition problem might cause an adverse reaction...a/k/a a meltdown of epic proportions. Anyway, this profile page sort of takes the guesswork out of getting to know those and other important factors when someone new is working with your child.

Jeremiah is a complicated fellow to say the least and so his profile page is double-sided. I included his likes and dislikes, what works with him and what doesn't, his medications and diagnoses, our goals and hopes for him, and our contact information. I used Microsoft Publisher to make it, but you could use any Word-type software. I am pleased with how it turned out and think it will be a great resource for the future. I already gave one to his new teacher at open house the other night. She was very appreciative! Hopefully, it will help her to avoid some behavior issues in the classroom this year.

You can theme your child's pages as well. Jeremiah has been into all things related to the mail lately and so that's the theme I made his. The best part is that I can change the theme or the information on his profile anytime as he grows and matures and his interests change.

Here is where I first learned about the person-centered planning and here are some one-page profile templates you can download for free to get started. They are also on the resources page of this website. Please feel free to share this post and these sites with any others you think may be interested or benefit from them.