John O’Brien’s teaching on inclusion, human rights, services and building communities where everyone matters shaped us as individuals and as an organisation.
He was the gentlest of teachers. He would offer us images of possibility and hope through stories, inviting us to see things differently. To see things better.
Alongside the aspiration were practical guides. Accomplishments that were adopted by services but more importantly which helped us to reflect on our lives and those of the people we support.
Much of John’s initial influence, both in this country and beyond, came at a time when we were seeking to understand how to move from institutional to community services. He reminded us that each policy and closure plan needed to be led by an absolute commitment to listening to people with respect and, perhaps above all, love.
Looking at our own organization, NDTI, we see John’s, and of course his partner Connie’s, legacy in our commitment to advocacy, to young lives full of contribution, to small supports that you control, to person centered planning and much more.
A number of our team members shared personal reflections on how John’s thinking impacted upon their work and careers:
“Without John and his colleagues how much of what we recognise as person centred planning, thinking, funding and support would exist? Maybe over time we would have found it out for ourselves, but we didn’t need to because John, Connie and others did the hard work for us The Small Supports programme exists because John O’Brien did a good job! Thank you John, your inspiration changed the lives of so many people for the better”
“In my first support worker job after uni, in every supervision, I had to give examples of how I had brought "O'Brien's five accomplishments" into my work. I was given a little laminated card with them on. Sadly, the organisation was actually dreadful and really didn't get what John had been getting at. I'd been in places that supported people much better before that. So, I left the job and took my card with the five little reminders with me about what we were aiming for.”
“When I first started working with people who have learning disabilities, John O'Brien did part of the induction. This big Father Christmas of a man has been my Jiminy Cricket ever since.”
“I did a degree in learning disability back in the early 90s and John’s work shaped our curriculum and my thinking entirely (along with Wolfensberger et al) … five accomplishments, individualised support plans. Then later, person centred planning. And of course, he was my introduction to advocacy. I had mostly only worked alongside children and young people until that point and remember being utterly baffled that this stuff needed to be written down! Of course, people should live independently and be a part of their communities and have their own support tailored around them to live the life they wanted… Then I started a student placement in a long stay hospital, there were just a handful of people left living there, and I saw why it needed writing down.”
“I had a major pinch me moment when I got to co-facilitate a session with John, hosted by Paradigm on creating positive cultures. Pinch me, because I was working alongside John and also because we were saying the same things, using slightly different words, as we were back in the early 90s when I first encountered John’s work. There’s so much more still to do to get the change we want to see for people. I remember a lot of conversation about risk aversion. John of course was amazing, in south London in his infamous dungarees, speaking truth to nonsense and humbling everyone in the room. His ability to influence people, hearts and minds was so impressive and I remember watching a shift in the room as people started to ‘get it’ and realise what they could do differently: Read more about healing integrity gaps.”
John and Connie’s framework of five key experiences continues to guide and inspire support for disabled people around the world:
Thank you, John. Rest in peace.
In memory of John O'Brien, Nov 1946-June 2025.
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