Unsure Where to Even Begin?
Winter is often considered the bleakest time of the year because of the stark landscape and long days. But we can look at this time of year differently, too. We are also on the precipice of change; we know it’s coming soon.
While New Year’s resolutions for people with disabilities and their families can be painful reminders for things that cannot be changed, a stark winter landscape in February can be seen as a reminder of all that CAN be changed. It can be seen as a clean slate for new thoughts and plans to move forward and empower yourself or a loved one. After all, no matter how long these days may seem, spring always comes.
Learning and advocacy for a loved one is a lifelong commitment and can sometimes feel overwhelming. Let us acknowledge that it is overwhelming. No one has all the solutions, and some ideas and suggestions may be so distant from a person’s reality they seem unachievable. Our Community Living Education Project (CLEP) team includes members with vastly different personal stories around supporting someone with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Sometimes, none of our stories will resonate with the people we support, because to them, they sound unrealistic. But through learning, new thoughts and plans can begin to seem possible.
As we wait for warmer days and the first buds of spring, we invite you to make a commitment to start by learning more about person-centered thinking and planning. This can be a step towards empowerment and envisioning changes, however small they may be.
The intentional focus of person-centered planning creates a fuller life. It can also bring joy and happiness to the family as they can see a change, however small, in their loved one’s life. Even small steps add up over time. For proof of this, one need only look outside. The sun rose at 7:20 a.m. on January 1, on January 31st it will rise at 7:07 a.m. Each day we get a little closer to spring, and small changes that we can make towards a person-centered life.
Learn more about Person-Centered Thinking, an approach that gives people with disabilities the leading role in their own life. It recognizes every person’s right to make choices that create a life meaningful to them, rather than playing a supporting role in someone else’s script. Person-Centered Thinking is the foundation for Person-Centered Planning, which allows people with disabilities to live the lives they want, supported by those around them.
Learn about a new free in-person workshop being offered across New Jersey for self-advocates, families/caregivers, support coordinators, and provider agencies who support individuals moving out of a family home, a nursing facility or other congregate setting, and into a home or apartment in the community. Offered jointly by the Community Living Education Project and the NJ Division of Development Disabilities (NJDDD), this workshop was offered twice in June 2026, and will be offered again in Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. The workshop focuses on how to embrace the concepts involved in person-centered thinking and planning and tools that are available to help this approach.
