Planning addresses:

• What the user needs help with
• Who is going to provide assistance
• When they are going to do it
• How they're going to do it

Having an Individual Plan does not entail greater privileges, but rather that assistance is better coordinated and adapted to the individual’s needs.

The basis for developing the learning programme for Individual Plan was the need for more knowledge, both among those who need Individual Plan and among service providers, also called co-ordinators, who initiate the process or participate in developing the plan.

Individual Plan = User’s Plan.  Similarly, the learning programme on Individual Plan has become the users’ learning programme, where users address co-ordinators.

The content of the course is based on in-depth interviews with users who have experience with Individual Plan.  The content of these interviews was sorted and grouped to provide an overview of what users feel is important.  This is not co-ordinators sharing their knowledge, but users sharing their experiences. 

In the course, four fictional users, in different life situations, share some of their experiences.  The examples of Martha, Kjell, Øystein, and Kari, express different experiences, challenges, and points of view, and focus on individual needs in an Individual Plan.  Their experiences allow for reflection for both parties in the target group.  For co-ordinators, it is informative to get a idea of how various situations can be experienced by users.  For other users, the examples provide ideas for solutions, while also pointing out what they should be aware of.

This example shows that co-ordinators can ask leading questions all too easily. 
Kari tells:
“They asked me if I like to knit.”
“I answered yes, and they paid a lot of attention to finding opportunities for me to knit.”
“If they had asked me what I like to do, I would never have thought about knitting.”
“Make sure that this is my plan, not yours!”

Kjell has had a stroke and has problems expressing himself.
Kjell tells:
“At first they didn’t take me so seriously.”
“They thought I couldn't think clearly and that I wasn't able to contribute to the planning!”
“It was difficult to get them to understand what I meant.”
“So I wanted to bring someone along with me who could express my opinions when I couldn't manage myself.”

At the conclusion of the course, the users present a challenge:

“We would like to challenge co-ordinators to think simple.”
“The most important things you have to remember are:
To take me seriously.
To respect me as a person.
To listen to me.
To speak plainly so that I can understand.
That our conversations and what happens is most important, not the document itself.
That it is my plan.”

This learning programme was developed in collaboration with the Aphasia Association in Oslo and Akershus, the Stroke Victims’ Association in Oslo, the MS Association of Norway, the Parkinson Association in Oslo and Akershus, the Epilepsy Association of Norway, and the National Competence Centre for Learning and Mastering at Aker University Hospital.  The learning programme was financed by Health and Rehabilitation.

Article by: Anett Meiner, Mintra AS