Person-centered planning is becoming a popular means of designing supports for people with disabilities. However, very little research evaluating person-centered planning exists. We evaluated the degree to which items and activities reported to be preferred in person-centered plans represented accurate preferences based on how individuals responded when presented with the items and activities. Person-centered planning meetings were conducted with 4 individuals with profound multiple disabilities to develop preference maps and to identify leisure-related preferences. A sample of the reported preferences in the plans was then systematically assessed by observing each participant's approach and avoidance responses to the items and activities. Of the sampled items and activities reported to be preferred in the plans, 42% represented moderate preferences based on the latter assessment process and 33% represented strong preferences. With 2 participants, several preferences identified in the plans were nonpreferred items and activities based on the preference assessments, and some were frequently avoided. These results suggested that although person-centered plans may identify some accurate preferences for people with profound multiple disabilities, this approach should be used cautiously. Results also suggested that such plans should be supplemented with systematic preference assessments to ensure the accuracy of identified preferences. Future research areas focus on evaluating other aspects of person-centered planning.
As transition planning and implementation proce dures evolve across the country, professionals and par ents are struggling with the roles and responsibilities they need to assume to ensure meaningful adult out comes for young adults with disabilities. This article outlines "optimal" roles and responsibilities and dis cusses these roles in interagency and transdisciplinary teams.The need for systematically planned procedures to transition young adults with severe disabilities from the auspices of the public school system into meaningful employment and other adult outcomes is well docu mented in both education and rehabilitation literature (Elder, 1984;. As a result of nearly a decade of legally mandated special education services under the entitlements of Public Law 94-142, a growing num ber of individuals with disabilities are requesting em ployment and related services from vocational rehabil itation and other adult service agencies. These individ uals and their parents, along with the education profes sionals who have worked with them, are often con fronted with two realizations: Adult services do not operate under entitlement procedures as does special education, and "appropriate" education does not always translate into paid employment opportunities once a student leaves school. has estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 students leave special education programs each year. Elder (1984) has noted that more than 60% of all special education students in the United States are transition-aged, between 15 and 21 years old. With an unemployment rate for special education graduates with disabilities approaching 50 to 65% (e.g.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.