1. Explain, people may define quality of life very differently
Explain, people may define quality of life very differently. The first thing we are going to do are introduce the concepts of “important to” and “important for” to begin thinking about how quality of life varies within this room. Then we will think about how quality of life can vary for the people you will support.
Trainer can do introductions around the room – name and any other questions that might be informative or fun.
Quality of life

2. Learning Objective
Participants will learn the quality of life areas that DDS identifies as important to or for a person to live a healthy, happy, meaningful life.

3. What is person centered thinking?
Person centered thinking practices help us to determine what is important to and for a person and what they value.
Listening to people and supporting their choices, wishes and desires to be heard.
Paying attention to the subtleties of the people you support and what interests them.
Offering choices and opportunities to try new things.
Recognize the persons abilities and encourage activities surrounding their interests.
Advocate with and on behalf of the person’s interests and values.
Let’s start our conversation with talking about person centered thinking and how using this framework can help us create a good quality of life for the people we support.

4. Important To What is important to you?
Give each staff a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
Ask the staff:
“What is the most important thing in your life?”
“What makes you happy?”
“What makes you laugh, smile and have a good time?”
Trainer should be prepared to give a few examples of what is important to them.
Ask staff to write it on the paper for a few minutes and then share as a group. You will likely hear things like, family, God, cell phone, friends, my dog/cat, etc.
Important to is about things that make people feel happy, fulfilled, satisfied and content. This includes people to be with, things to have, fun things to do.

5. What is important for you?
Give each staff a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
Ask the staff:
“What is important for each of you?”
“What things do you have to do for your health that you don’t really enjoy?”
“What do you have to do to make a living that you don’t always like to do?”
“What kind of social norms do you try to abide when you’re out in public, but not in the privacy of your own home?” Example: farting and burping, walking around naked
Ask them to write it on the paper for a few minutes and then share as a group. You will likely hear things like, eat salads, exercise, go to doctor’s appointments
Important for is about health, safety and the things that are important for people to be valued members of their community. This can include diets, exercise, learning cues in social situations.
The trainer will Give examples of what is important for them.

6. Balance
The trick is to support each person in finding the balance in his/her own life.
All choice and no responsibility
Richard eats McDonalds every day and has gained so much weight, his health is at risk and the people who support him just say, “it’s his choice because McDonalds makes him happy.” – What would be a better response?
Rachel has developed a pattern of bringing home different people that she has just met to have sex with. Staff do not know if Rachel understands safe sex or understands what being in a loving relationship really means, but staff refuse to intervene saying, “Rachel can hang out and have sex with whoever she wants. It’s her choice.” – What would be a better response?
Healthy and unhappy
Melissa goes to all of her doctor’s appointments and follows all of her doctor’s orders. She has complex medical needs and staff accompany her on all appointments to ensure that all the medical information is understood and shared with Melissa’s support team. Melissa seems to have become depressed and staff’s first response is to take her to a psychiatrist to ask about psychotropic medication. – What would be a better response?
Important To

7. Quality of life
The trainer will make a grid on the Smart Board or flip chart with these six core values listed. These are the six domains of quality that DDS monitors.
The trainer will ask each staff to place the items that are important to them on the chart or the trainer will write them on the chart in the appropriate category.
Examples:
My cat – Relationships
Going to church – Community inclusion
Being out of the house – Community inclusion
Vacation/Travel – Choice and decision making and/or community inclusion
Being and advocate – Rights and dignity, community inclusion, relationships
Trainer will then ask what is important FOR everyone and discuss where those items fall in the six domains:
Exercise (like swimming) – Health and wellness
Not talking to the “wrong” people – Safety and Security

8. Rights and Dignity
A person is treated with respect and supported to make choices in life.
Give examples of what it means to be treated with respect and supported in making choices in YOUR life.
Some things you might hear:
People talk to me in a calm tone of voice and are nice.
People listen to me when I speak.
People don’t say mean things about me to me or to others.
People don’t talk back to me.
People ask my opinion.
People have manners – say excuse me, please and thank you.

9. Health and Wellness
People are most satisfied and perform at their best when they are healthy both physically and emotionally.
Talk about what health means to everyone – ask a few volunteers to share what health means to them.
Some things you might hear:
Health means feeling good physically – not having heartburn or indigestion.
Health means feeling happy and respected.
Health means weighing 150 pounds or less.
Health means walking every day.

10. Safety and Security
A person feels safe when free from harm at home, in the community, in the workplace and within relationships.
Give examples of what being free from harm means for you in these four situations.
Ask:
What does it mean to be free from harm at home? Example: Living with people that I trust.
What does it mean to be free from harm in the community? Example: Having neighbors that look out for me.
What does it mean to be free from harm in the workplace? Example: People I work with embrace me as part of a team. They don’t tease me or gossip about me – they respect me.
What does it mean to be free from harm in relationships? Example: Friends and family are nice to me because I am nice to them.

11. Choice and Decision Making
People have options and control over their life.
This is self advocacy!
Give examples of what self advocacy is and how people might be informed about these choices. Examples: choosing where you live, how you spend your money, where you want to work, etc.
Sometimes people need to be supported to exercise self advocacy. People will exercise control over their life if they feel safe and supported. Ask staff, “how would you support someone in making a choice about where to live if they had never had to make that decision before (maybe another person always made choices FOR them).

12. Community inclusion
People are actively involved in their neighborhood and community as a whole.
Give examples of what this would look like –
Examples:
I go to the corner store because I know where it is and they know me there. Kinda like Cheers!
My neighbor helps me shovel the snow and I help her too.
I volunteered at the soup kitchen.

13. Relationships People build friendships that are important to them.
This may include family, friends, neighbors, significant others, and people with shared interests.
Ask staff:
What are the most important relationships in your life? How did you meet those people? Examples: at school, neighborhood, at work
What does a good relationship look like? How are they built? Examples: based on common interests, reciprocity
How do we help people recognize when there is an unhealthy relationship?

14. Just like You and Me
People with ID/DD have interests, relationships, hobbies, and activities that are important to them.
People have a good quality of life and are most satisfied when their values are reflected in what is present in their life. These are things that are “important to” them.
Have a conversation with the group:
Why do you think the ISP is important? How do you think this supports people to have good lives?

15. Values
What are Values?
Values are items or beliefs to which a person or group of people assign worth, merit or importance.
Some values are developed through:
Personal and family experiences
Cultural or religious beliefs
Societal or workplace expectations
What are your values?
Examples:
Personal and family – Examples: we eat dinner as a family every night, I value every woman’s right to choose.
Cultural or religious – Examples: I go to my place of worship every week. I respect the American flag.
Societal or workplace expectations – I don’t sexually harass my co-workers. I wear a suit to work every day.
How do these affect our own behavior and how do they affect what we think or judge about others?

16. Becoming Person Centered
Show a portion of this video – You decide!