Working in a person-centred way requires that we see the person first – what matters to them, not just what the matter is with them.
Historically, services which support people with disabilities and additional needs have just focused on what is important for them, to keep people healthy and safe. However, we now have enough evidence to demonstrate that this approach does not support people to have the lives that they would choose. Working in a person-centred way requires that we see the person first – what matters to them, not just what the matter is with them. We need to learn both what is important to the person and what is important for them and find the balance that works for them. The things that are important to most people are the small things that we aren’t even aware of ourselves, but if we don’t have them it has an enormous impact on our lives. When we get down to it the things that are really important to us apart from the people we love, are usually about routines, our clothes, food and our favourite TV programmes or music.
Once we have found out what is really important to somebody now and for the future we can work out how to make sure we support the person to achieve their aspirations as well as taking account of what is important for them from other.
