Personal Success
Model
A success-based approach for
structuring services and supports for
community success
Assumptions
Laws are written and drive policy which drives
programs
Present system needs improvement to increase
efficiency and effectiveness
Services are fragmented between agencies
Families and individuals often become systemdependent… and live in or on the fringes of poverty
Services are never person-centered when focus is
on eligibility requirements and a menu of options
Change requires a significant relationship and
moving forward… sometimes away from roots
Some things to remember…
People have within them, hidden rules with
which they were raised… regardless of
where they are now…
There are cultural differences in poverty,
but the focus is on economics
We neither scold nor excuse, but we teach
We must teach rules about each economic
class
More things to remember…
Poverty is relative
Poverty occurs across all races
Generational and situational poverty are
different and most system-dependent people are
included
All social models and behavioral patterns have
exceptions, including the work about poverty
Schools and service providers operate from
middle class norms and values
Transition out of poverty requires people to give
up, for a time, relationships for achievement
“When a person incurs a
disability, the system teaches
them how to use the system…
how to maintain eligibility and
that’s what puts people into
poverty.”
A person with multiple and
significant disabilities
When people are forced to live
their lives based on maintaining
program eligibility, their thinking
becomes impoverished… and
for all practical purposes, they
are in poverty…
The ability to be successful
(change) is directly
proportional to and reliant
upon a number of factors other
than economics and
employment…
Personal success is based upon
having dreams and
relationships… and acquiring
sufficient resources in order to
realize those dreams and
relationships…
We all have life goals
and
resource goals
Achievement and goals are
middle class concepts…
People in poverty are typically
unaware of middle class
concepts… so we have to mentor
and teach them…
Change requires mentoring
(teaching) and
a significant relationship…
We can’t change if we don’t know
how to be different and change is
best facilitated with a guide…
Success Dynamics
People change
People’s goals change
People’s support needs change
People’s learning needs change
Personal success is dynamic and is based
on access to resources
Personal Success is a continuous
succession of Discovery missions for all
people
Discovery…
My job does not make me successful
I determine success for my vocation, but
also for my living conditions and
recreational endeavors
I set goals to obtain what I want
I acquire the resources needed to meet
the goals
Mental Model
A mental model of success includes:
– Developing a goal leading to a change in
where I live, where I work and what I do for
play – if that’s what I want
– Learning about resources I need to reach my
goals in those three areas (live, work, play)
– Identifying the resources I have and don’t
have
– Learning how to obtain the resources I don’t
have
– Building sustainable support resources
Success
Learning
Person
Supports
Needs
Goals Lead To Success… By
Obtaining Resources
Poverty and impoverishment
– extent to which people are without resources
Success
– extent to which people have resources
Resources
– …are not resources unless they are available
Life goals must be
established first…
If you don’t know where you’re going… any
road will take you there…
Life Goals are based
upon…
Where people live…
Where people work…
Where people play…
Life Goals Must Be Established
First…
Life occurs inside the community
People live in the community, work in the
community and play in the community
Goal setting at this level is general and
stated in terms of:
– Community living
– Community vocation
– Community leisure
What life goals do you have for where you
live?
What life goals do you have for your
vocation?
What life goals do you have for leisure
activities?
Employment is difficult for many
people with disabilities because
the locus of activity is centered
on getting a job
Resource goals are based on
what’s needed to achieve
life goals
Resource Goals
Assessment is based upon personalized
life goals… just like people without
apparent disabilities
Resource Goals
Assessment is based upon personalized
life goals… just like people without
apparent disabilities
Identification of needed resources is
based upon personal assessment of
resources in the context of life goals
Resource Goals
Assessment is based upon personalized
life goals… just like people without
apparent disabilities
Identification of needed resources is
based upon personal assessment of
resources in the context of life goals
Acquisition of needed resources then
leads to goal accomplishment… and
personal success
Providers of services and
supports need to focus more on
teaching and helping clients
learn how to acquire
resources… than upon
acquiring resources for the
client
Where I live
Where I work
Where I play
Vocation…
What are my vocational interests?
What are my vocational goals for now and
for the future?
What vocational success looks like, feels
like and sounds like…
Community Living…
Where I would like to be living now
Where I would like to be living in the future
What success looks like, feels like and
sounds like to the individual regarding
residence
Leisure Activities
What I want to do for fun, recreation and
leisure
Who I spend time with
What success looks like, feels like and
sounds like to the individual regarding
leisure activities
Personal Success Resources
Comprehensive
Holistic
Fit the spectrum of multidisciplinary services and supports
Accountability focused
Outcome based and considers
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Life events
Grief of disabilities
Underpins research and theories
Individual dreams
Research driven practices
Relationship building
Resource building
Interdependence and self sufficiency
The Personal Success Model
is based on acquisition of
“resources” because it takes
resources for all of us to
achieve personal success
Resources for success are…
Financial
Vocational
Educational
Personal Support System
Cognitive and Behavioral
Community Inclusion & Safety
Mental and Emotional
Social
Communication Skills
Persistence and Motivation
Legal
Integrity
Medical
Physical
Nutritional
Spiritual
Assessment
Personal Success Model
Individuals assess each resource
to determine whether they can
meet their needs for each
resource to the extent needed, in
order to realize their life goals…
Resources possessed are
strengths and resources needed
are converted to resource goals
which will result in the individual
meeting the resource need with
or without assistance, to the
greatest extent possible…
Goal Setting To Meet Resource
Needs
Goals, Objectives, Tasks, SMART (GOT
SMART)
Either objective or task is written following
the SMART model
Not all objectives will have tasks
Measurement through SMART is constant
feedback loop to measure, reassess or
adjust goals
SMART
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant/Realistic
Time specific
When people are consumed by
maintaining eligibility, little of
their energy is available to focus
on success… or to dream… or
to have relationships…
Golfing in Wyoming…
The Personal Success Model
helps people balance or
rebalance their lives and helps
people create or recreate
dreams, relationships, goals
and an orientation for success,
as they define success…
It’s never too late to do the right
thing…
Contact Information
Dave Schaad
UW/WIND
[email protected]
307.766.2095