In training we frequently mention that the work we teach is not about disability, rather it can work for anyone. A few weeks ago I was challenged to figure out exactly what that means. My dad asked me to give a 'speech' at his Lions Club (local community service club) dinner meeting, and thinking 'how hard can it be?' I agreed. I had half an hour to present to a group of people who, to the best of my knowledge, had no experience of the human service sector. In the dining room of the local pub there was no space for a data projector, so no power point presentation. I was given only very broad instructions on what to talk about ("just tell them what you do"), and to add to the pressure, my audience was comprised of my parents' peers, many of whom I have known my entire life.

So I took my trusty pin board and a couple of posters, and handed out copies of a range of one page profiles. I talked a bit about the origins of our work, historical context of services and the need for person centred approaches, and some of the ways person centred thinking and planning are currently being applied. From there I asked people to think about what is important to them now & into the future, and to reflect on whether or not their loved ones would know the fine details of what they want to be present or absent in their day to day lives.

In response to a number of questions, many people confessed that they have told their children that they never want to be put in a nursing home, and that if they live to become confused, or physically dependant on others they want someone to "just shoot them." The general consensus was that their loved ones were unlikely to shoot them, and that a nursing home could quite possibly end up being part of their future. These grim reflections were discussed with a lot of laughter, and culminated in discussion about exactly what family members may need to know in order to ensure they continue to have what's important to them regardless of what their future may hold.

At the end of the presentation, people asked insightful questions like "how can you find out what's important to someone if they already have quite advanced dementia and can no longer tell you?" As I packed up, almost everyone approached me and shared how they related to what I had been saying - caring for elderly relatives, siblings with significant health issues, children & in-laws with acquired disabilities, or just reflecting on the realities of aging and how they saw their futures. 

It felt like such a privilege to present to a group of ordinary people completely outside of the service sector, and to witness such different sorts of conversations emerging amongst the group. As trainers working in services, there is so much that we don't have to say or explain, and there is so much that we can presume.  We can make statements like, 'this work is just about people' without really stopping to think about what person centred thinking & approaches may mean to the average person in our community. I feel deeply appreciative of having had the opportunity to stop and reflect on this, and put to put my thoughts into words. I recommend that any trainers or advocates of person centred approaches seize any similar opportunities that may come their way.