Chapter 7a: Goals
Determining Goals
Now that you know the person on a bit of a deeper level you can help them to figure out their goals and outcomes. Let’s start with the goals!
Person Centered Plan Task
Look back on your “Notes for Action” and make a long list of possible goals along with the person.
Do not censor these goals with ‘shoulds,’ ‘can’t,’ or ‘impossibles.’ List everything you have talked about. This long list should be part of their Person Centered Plan.
Help the focus person choose their top 3 to 5 goals. Again, do not censor these goals. It does not matter if you or the person can see a path toward the goal at this point. These should be goals that make the person feel excited about the future. They should feel challenging and inspiring to the person.
See the example image below from Friday Knights Puppy Centered Plan.
Example: Determine the Goals:
List all of the possible goals from the NOTES FOR ACTIONS.
- Schedule walks? Hire a dog walker for days when mom is busy?
- Barking – working on using the button instead – needs more training.
- Discover places where I could make more friends. (dog friends)
- Spend more time with other people besides mom in order to deepen my relationships with others.
- Schedule daily walks when it is warmer and sidewalks / trails are safe.
- Keep a routine – write out routine so humans can follow it as I need it.
- Investigate other ways to keep a dogs teeth clean instead of brushing.
- Try the new groomers on the island to see if I like them as much as I like my Sudbury Groomer.
- Work on my Trick dog Title – mom needs to work with me daily on the next set of 15 tricks for my Intermediate title next. Daily practice will get me there.
- Go on a Hiking Vacation – mom and dad need to plan a vacation where they bring me like a couple years ago. Last year they went without me! I would like to go anywhere that I can walk, sniff, check out some water, see other dogs and stay overnight in hotels.
- Explore a Farm – There are a lot of farms around here. I would need to be sure I can be safe and not hurt by the animals if I were to be put down on the ground out of moms arms. Maybe start with visiting a fence side so I can look at the animals and then work my way up.
Prioritize these goals and list the top 3 to 5.
1. Work on Trick dog Title
2. Manage anxiety around noises in house
3. Go on more walks
If you create a vision board, include an image in your person-centred plan document under the Goal Section. What a beautiful way to personalize this document (and gain bonus points on your assignment!)
What is a vision board?
A vision board is a visual representation of the person’s goals. This could be a series of hand-drawn images, pictures cut out of magazines or a collage created on the computer. Having the vision board as part of the person-centred plan document can add life to the document.
The vision board could also be hung in the focus persons’ environment to encourage them and their support team to continu