Coaching Model for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
by Cindy Giacomini
1. People with disabilities not being able to verbalize their goals and/or being heard while they are trying to voice their goal.
2. What is the learning style? What do they understand about “goals, objectives and action plans”? What is the Support systems goal for the person and how supportive are they of the person having goals outside of their ideas?
3. Write 3 to 6 steps to help the client through the problem.
1) Develop a communication process with the entire circle of support to discuss what their desires for the person are and educate them on the process.
2) Understand the abilities of the person with disabilities, learning style, level of ability to understand, what limitations their disability may add.
3) Education the person with disabilities of what goals are, why they are important; spend some time helping them understand why we want them to come up with goals.
4) Present tools that will help the person with disabilities explore ideas and goals and develop the action plan and support for the action plan
5) Identify a rewards system along with intermittent times to celebrate accomplishments.
6) Evaluate the progress and return to step 4 if goals are no longer of interest to the person with disabilities
4.
Magnify- increase the understanding and the support of the Circle of Support- increase the communication and understanding of everyone!
Your Strengths- Identify the strengths and the abilities of the person being coached as well as the learning styles and best ways to support them.
Learn- What is a goal and why should you set one?
Investigate- What do you want your life to be like? What goals do you really want? Use the tools to help you to investigate what your authentic life can be.
Fun- Celebrate each step in the process! Make sure and set up rewards for each completed action plan.
Evaluate- Daily, weekly or monthly way of looking at the goals you have set and if you are still wanting to work on these goals.
Recommended Tool: Coaching Tool to Help Adults with Developmental Disabilities Live Their Authentic Lives
Recommended Research paper: “Helping People with Developmental Disabilities Live their Authentic Life”
Cindy Giacomini
Master Life Coach for Adults with Disabilities