213 search results for: abcd action

INCLUSION CLASSICS BOOK Bundle

$25.00

TWO Classic Inclusion Books

Action for Inclusion
The Inclusion Papers

Education Inclusion History Videos

This mini collection is a ‘slice’ of some of the early video records of the struggle from exclusion towards ‘integrated education’ and then inclusion. It is incomplete. Video was a rare format so the collection is thin and often several generations from ‘original’ Still – valuable history. With a Little Help from My Friends – […]

Better Life Chances 2.0 [PDF]

John O’Brien, Connie Lyle O’Brien & Marcie Brost People with intellectual and developmental disabilities will have better life chances when these five things are true for them and their families and friends. They have experienced a variety of community roles that provide and good opportunities for contribution, developing competence and friendship, and creating knowledge of their […]

Equality in Education – eBook

$0.00

This paper was written by Stan Woronko and Marsha Forest in 1986 for the Integration Action Group.   The history of the relentless struggle by advocates and families on behalf of people with disabilities began many years ago.. and continues.

If person-centered planning did not exist [PDF]

If Person-Centred Planning did not Exist, Valuing People Would Require Its Invention John O’Brien 2004 Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities 2004, IU, 11±15 Person-centred planning is one important tool in making the culture change necessary to realize the Government’s promise in Valuing People. Some potential dangers in large scale implementation are identified, a logic for local […]

Richard Ruston has gone home…

Richard Ruston – Life long advocate for the People First Movement and past President of People First of Ontario and People First of Canada. Richard passed on Feb. 22.2021 in hospital in Windsor, ON (this is a work in progress in tribute to our friend Richard) Tributes from friends follow…. Richard Ruston Life Celebration. April […]

WHAT MATTERS

$25.00

Janice Fialka is a brilliant story teller, thoughtful listener and writer. What Matters includes the voice of Micah Fialka-Feldman – her son. He is a teaching assistant at Syracuse University and one of the most charming people you will ever encounter. This remarkable story, draws on the reflections from family and friends – and walks us through the family’s journey to this remarkable current reality for Micah and his friends and family. But the story begins as a stunning ‘disability’ story except that this family said no. They decided that Micah wold be fully included and have a full life. And does he ever.

What Matters also includes the voices and writing of Micah;  Emma (from the lens of a sibling and teacher of full inclusion); and Rich, who writes about his son as a window in the social justice issues. Remarkably, Janice, Rich, Micah and Emma do not hold back. They have the courage to tell the story warts and all… which is why it is a ‘must read’ for every family, every teacher – every person who cares about another person.

Micah is also one of the feathered stories in the newer Dan Habib movie “Intelligent Lives”,

Janice also did a recent podcast which focused on Micah’s Circle of Friends, it’s origins, and it’s impact on all their lives.

WhatMatters.INDEX
WhatMatters.ForewordPreface

Also available as an ebook:  https://inclusion.com/site/wp-admin/post.php?post=2111&action=edit

WHAT MATTERS – eBook

$15.00

WHAT MATTERS

Download the E-Book        Access information will be emailed to you

Janice Fialka is a brilliant story teller, thoughtful listener and writer. What Matters features the voice of Micah Fialka-Feldman – her son. Micah is a teaching assistant at Syracuse University and one of the most charming people you will ever encounter. This remarkable story, draws on the reflections from family and friends – and walks us through the family’s journey to this remarkable current reality for Micah and his friends and family. But the story begins as a stunning ‘disability’ story except that this family said no. They decided that Micah wold be fully included and have a full life. And does he ever.

Remarkably, Janice, Rich, Micah and Emma do not hold back. They have the courage to tell the story warts and all… which is why it is a ‘must read’ for every family, every teacher – every person who cares about another person.

Janice also did a recent podcast which focused on Micah’s Circle of Friends, it’s origins, and it’s impact on all their lives.

WhatMatters.INDEX
WhatMatters.ForewordPreface

Also available as printed copy

Enabling Valued Community Lives [PDF]

Enabling Valued Community Lives for People with Significant Disabilities A Call to Action in Alberta John O’Brien April 2002 Participants in this workshop discussed their learning about creating community alternatives to institutional living and identified actions that will create an Alberta in which institutions are part of our past, not part of our future. John O’Brien […]

Dream Catchers and Dolphins: Reaching Out in a Time of Crisis

$10.00

Marsha Forest had cancer – actually several cancers – and had the courage to share her struggles with cancer with a wide range of friends.  This is a collection of the email exchanges with friends as people offered support for the journey.

It is a story that may be helpful to many facing complex medical struggles.

Personal Assistance: What It Is and What It Is Not – Judith Snow

DOWNLOAD – Personal Assistance: What it is and What it is Not by Judith Snow, MA Abstract: In her typical forthright way, Judith peels back the layers of misunderstanding about the nature of Personal Assistance – and reminds us of the very simple truth – is a form of support for people who are labeled […]

The Abundant Community

$28.00

John McKnight and Peter Block are friends and collaborators.  They are both compelled to discover and share their deep understandings of how to build genuine communities.  Brilliant analysis with action possibilities for all of us to restore our neighbourhoods.

Building Capacity for Family Support [PDF]

Building the Capacity for Family-Centered Practice in Michiganʼs Changing Mental Health System John O’Brien Oct. 2002 Moving from margin to center by becoming sticky 2A challenging environment 3Leverage points 5Options for Action 7Network of Actions to Strengthen Family-Centered Practice 8Communities Come Together Around Family-Centered Practice 9Family-Centered Practice Is Embedded in the Whole System 10A Clear […]

Celebrating Circles [PDF]

Celebrating Circles of Support March 18, 2000Dumas Center, Federal Way Washington John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien March. 2000 • One true thing about circles is …?• What gathers a circle?• What keeps a circle together?• What can people expect from a circle? Sometimes it’s important to gather a circle when something is changing in someone’s […]

RE-Visiting Foundations of Person-Centered Work [PDF]

Transformation; Person-Centered Practices; Resilience; Recovery Re-visiting the Foundations of Person-Centered Work John O’Brien Nov. 2010 “Are we there yet?”If we believe that our current system can deliver on this goal with small changes & more resources, person-centered work will be straightforward & routine.If we believe we have to transform our relationships, our practices, & our […]

Thinking about McConnell

Judith Snow 2000 Gleaned from email correspondence with John McKnight Subject: The Vulnerable Mosaic and The Balanced Off Centre Camp The April 2000 meeting of the Ontario Enabling Communities Regional Committee was a moment of transformation for us. We looked deeply at the thoughts, feelings and images of who we have been and who we intend to […]

Learning to Listen [PDF]

John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien 1995 Listen with an intensity that most people save for talking.Lilly Tomlin’s “Edith Ann” What does it mean to listen?People come to life when they make contact with someone who works actively and faithfully to understand what they want to say. When people communicate in unconventional ways, or when […]

PATHFINDERS

$30.00

John O’Brien & Beth Mount have supported people as they find diverse paths to social inclusion and self direction. This book is a remarkable collection of stories, critical reflections, frameworks to guide change, and lessons of pathfinders’ journeys to change organizations and build communities that work better for everyone.

This book reflects what John and Beth have learned about assisting people and their families to make real progress toward living the promise of The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Social inclusion is the result of a hero’s journey.
Good services develop and support partnerships with people and their families and allies.
Pathfinders and their partners are social inventors.

this book is also available as an ebook:

The Knowledge Exchange on Inclusive Community and Self-Directed Supports

Civic action and social policy in North America and the UK have created a growing demand for knowledge of how to make the changes necessary to realize the promise of self-directed supports and build more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive communities. The Marsha Forest Centre and in Control have formed The Knowledge Exchange on Inclusive Community […]

Past the Limits of Person-Centered Planning [PDF]

Moving Past the Limits in Person-Centred Planning John O’Brien 2006 Disseminated as an element of government policy, person- centred planning has become widespread in some jurisdictions. When the results have been assessed, large scale system invest- ments in person-centred planning have demonstrated positive but limited outcomes. In England, for example, developing a capac- ity for […]

Nobody Outruns the Trickster [PDF]

John O’Brien A Brief Note on the Meaning of the Word “Valorization” John O’Brien – 1994  Wolf Wolfensberger s deeply reaching work gives even a mediocre student an appreciation of the importance of positive imagery, an eye for contradictions between intention and effect, and a disposition to look past explanations about why something is in […]

The Genius of the Principle of Normalization [PDF]

Education in Applying The Principle Of Normalization As A Factor In The Practical Arts of Improving Services For Socially Devalued People John O’Brien 1995 – June A Design for Learning In the development of better services for socially devalued people, the genius of the principle of normalization* flows from the practical interaction of three components. Two […]

Building Creative Tension [PDF]

John O’Brien The development of a citizen advocacy programme for people with mental handicaps John O’Brien – London, 1984 ‘Beware thinking of systems so perfect that nobody will have to be good.’ – GandhiHow does one measure social progress? If the increasing investment of public resources, the development of new services and methods of assistance, […]

Cogworld [PDF]

John O’Brien John O’Brien – Dec. 2019 This paper explores the interlocking trends in managing our system of assistance for people with developmental disabilities that worry me deeply. The extent to which I am troubled shows in the argumentative tone of the paper, which is written as a position to initiate debate.  I am arguing […]

Emerging Research

$20.00

Education for students with disability is undergoing dramatic change. The Special Education Model, with its basic principle of a series of steps which increasingly segregate students with disabilities from their typical peers, is being challenged by the Inclusive Education Model and the principle of educating all students together in regular classroom settings.

This text describes the beliefs and experiences of students, their families and their teachers who are impacted in some manner by issues of disability and education. The writers are persons with disability, family members and educators. They also are in the graduate program at York University, Toronto..

Facilitating an Everyday Life

$30.00

Facilitating an Everyday Life – intro

This book is about independent facilitation…

Independent facilitation frees facilitators to be dedicated to citizens who experience vulnerability because of labels, disability, chronic illness, poverty, or aging. Facilitators are independent of biases from others such as service systems and funding bodies.

Independent facilitation puts belief and hope in community because that is where relationships and safeguards play out for all of us.

Independent facilitation builds resilience and capacity in individuals, families, and communities.

Independent facilitation flourishes when it is embedded in community, in facilitator networks, and is supported by local action and government policy.

Who is Nabamba Budhagaali? eBook

$0.00

This is a short & powerful history of the life and work of Nabamba Budhagaali the 39^th, who reigned for over 50 years (1965-2019).  He was easily the greatest Musoga persona of all time to have lived at the Source of the Nile in Busoga for the last one hundred years. He is the least understood and most misunderstood today, which is the reason for this little book.

Nabamba Budhagaali was the most revered Oracle at the Source of the Nile, and the entire Central Afrikan Great Lakes Region, and was Spiritual Citizen No.1

Restorative Justice

$25.00

What passes for justice in Canada is a system that too often brutalizes and isolates both victim and perpetrator: the former, bewildered, shattered, feeling victimized again by a process that fails to give satisfactory answers, fails to lay matters to rest; the latter, bitter, angry, alone, condemned to a hell called prison from which he emerges almost certain to repeat his crimes. The separate universes of victim and perpetrator, thesis and antithesis, need to be integrated into a whole, a synthesis, that does not perpetuate injustice but enables justice to flower. With shining examples like Randy Charboneau’s first-hand account of his own inspiring transformation, this revolutionary book tells us how – how to turn the worst transgressions of human experience into an opportunity for understanding and healing, a process known as restorative justice. A much-needed tome, clearly and compellingly presented. May it work its magic in helping to transform our society into a community where justice is not a competitive sport but an expression of the essential fairness possible in human interaction.

with Randy Charboneau, Rick Owens and Rupert Ross

Call for bulk pricing

Toronto Summer Institute Postponed to July 2021

Our obligation to the common good keeps us home. Uncertainty about how long the need for physical separation will last, what form mitigating the effects of Coronavirus will take three months from now, and what will be needed to rebuild when the immediate threat passes, leads us to postpone TSI as a face-to-face event.  “Let’s […]

Emerging Research – eBook

$20.00 Original price was: $20.00.$15.00Current price is: $15.00.

Education for students with disability is undergoing dramatic change. The Special Education Model, with its basic principle of a series of steps which increasingly segregate students with disabilities from their typical peers, is being challenged by the Inclusive Education Model and the principle of educating all students together in regular classroom settings.

This text describes the beliefs and experiences of students, their families and their teachers who are impacted in some manner by issues of disability and education. The writers are persons with disability, family members and educators. They also are in the graduate program at York University, Toronto..

Support Coordination – Complexity [PDF]

Working In ComplexityLessons For System Change From Support Coordination John O’Brien & Patti Scott 2018 We advocate a strong view of inclusion and self direction that disrupts most current ways that publicly funded assistance to people with ID/DD are organized and delivered. Progress in realizing these values calls for deep change.❋We find the Cynefin framework a helpful […]

History

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PlayFair Teams: Engaging Students in Challenging Conceptions of Disability, Education, and Social Justice The overall project objective is engaging Canadian youth, with and without disabilities to increase awareness in schools and local communities of disability, education, and social justice. The project will be administered by the Marsha Forest Centre (MFC) and partners. The Marsha Forest […]

What more for Joaquin [PDF]

What More Is Possible for Joaquin? John O’Brien & Beth Gallagher 2017 Partnership with Joaquin* and his family offers an opportunity to learn how to better support people with developmental disabilities to live in ways that they and the people who love them have good reasons to value, lives that express the human right to live […]

The Community Living Bundle

$40.00

Two great books:
John O’Brien and Connie Lyle O’Brien have been leaders in thinking and action on Inclusion for decades. These are two of their books and capture their powerful and insightful learning and thinking about the stories, simplicity and complexity of creating full lives for all. Human Service teams — get this pack.

Jim Hansen: School & Our Self Image + Questions

SCHOOL Someone asked a little boy, “What is Home?” He replied, “Home is a place that when you go there, they have to take you in.” School should be more like home. School is an important place of learning. It is, however, not the only or the most important place of learning. A school, at […]

Resources on Person-Centered Planning [PDF]

A Resource Listing John O’Brien 2015 History Connie Lyle O’Brien & John O’Brien (2002) A history of person-centered planning. http:// www.nasddds.org/resource-library/person-centered-practices/the-origins-of-person-centered- planning-connie-lyle-and-john-obrien/ another version is In Steve Holburn & Peter Vietze, Eds. Person-centered planning: Research Planning and Future Directions. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes. Pp. 3-28. This book has a number of other useful chapters. First things […]

The Importance of Choice [PDF]

Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities Discovering Choice Conference London, 9 November 2000 John O’Brien A Sequence of Actions to Promote Choice • Augment: skilled use of technology to enhance communication, movement, attention, learning • Accommodate: environmental modifications to facilitate participation in community places & activities • Adapt: changing processes or requirements &systematically instructing to improve performance • Assist: individually tailored personal […]

Walking Out; Walking On [PDF]

John O’Brien 2012, Jan. Unless we understand & create space to live beyond the limits imposed on our actions between the mismatch between the work of social inclusion and the taken for granted ways that we organize our systems, we will remain frustrated with the results of our advocacy. “Today, many things indicate that we […]

Trouble with Person-Centered Planning [PDF]

John O’Brien Dec. 2013 My continuing passion is to part a curtain, that invisible veil of indifference that falls between us and that blinds us to each other’s presence, each other’s wonder, each other’s human plight. ― Eudora Welty “ Person-centered planning is often useful and sometimes powerful. When it is powerful, a changing sense of what […]

When Spider Webs Unite

$20.00

When Spider Webs Unite:  Shafik Asante’s book will challenge you to broaden the definition of inclusion and to look at the issues of oppression and liberation in a fresh new way. The articles are short and punchy. Shafik speaks from the point of view of a community organizer, a human rights leader, and as a parent of two sons, one of whom has been labeled by the system.

The book is divided into theme areas including Alliance Building; Inclusive Community Building; Disability Issues; Leadership and Organizing; and a Tribute to Shafik.

The sections on alliance building and leadership are particularly inspiring. The content is vibrant and real because Shafik lived and “walked the talk” of building inclusive community daily. He worked in the heart of Philadelphia where he was a founder of the New African Voices Alliance and The Community Awareness Network.

Shafik Asante – Videos

https://youtu.be/JNSpWRfDlRo

Shafik Asante & Shina Ahad – a Tribute to their work (video)

Shafik Asante and Judith Snow – at McGill Summer Institute – (early 1990’s) (video)

This book is also available as part of the
Spider Webs Unite Bundle

When Spider Webs Unite – Ebook

Support for Parent Leadership [PDF]

Learning About Community Support for the Families of Children with DisabilitiesReflections on the Local Liaison Learning Group: Parent Leadership Program John O’Brien with Bryn Fortune, Sharon Dietrich, Joan Blough & Nancy Peeler Aug. 2000 The Parent Leadership Program (PLP) team that created and facilitated the Local Liaison Learning Group (Learning Group) between September 1998 and […]

A Framework for Planning facilitation guide (2013) [PDF]

Facilitating the Framework for Planning ProcessTheory-to-Practice: Using a Framework for Planning to Support Person-Centered Transition Carol Blessing & Connie Ferrell A Framework for Planning, like most person-centered processes, is simply a container to hold information that comes from good listening. Asking people what matters to them and listening with what our mentor and friend Beth […]

Shapes of Things to Come – eBook

$0.00

This is an Executive Summary of the book:  Creating Blue Space: Fostering Innovative Practices for People with Developmental Disabilities [(2013) Toronto: Inclusion Press

Three core themes are explored:

• The breakdown of the delegated approach to serving people with developmental disabilities and the search for good support forms through innovation in an evolving developmental disabilities field.

• Moving from client-hood and consumerism to citizenship by undertaking a quest for communities of diversity and mutuality.

For more in-depth exploration, get  Creating Blue Space

• The design and delivery of individualized supports through the development of blue spaces that encourage generative action in self, relationships and organizations.

For a more in-depth exploration – get a copy of Creating Blue Space

Acción para la Inclusión – eBook

$0.00

A new Spanish book written by Carmen Maria Priante Bretón to support Inclusion Facilitators in the workplace – based on and adapted from the original “Action for Inclusion “

Free download

ISBN – pdf -978-11-987935-13-4
ISBN – ebook -978-11-987935-06-6

Field Guide Handbook_Excellence in PC Transition Planning FALL 2015 [PDF]

FIELD GUIDE FOR Excellence In Person-Centered Transition PlanningUsing a student-directed approachwith youth in special education programs Carol Blessing & Connie Ferrell Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 A Little Back Story…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9Tidbits of LearningTidbit #1: Have a Buddy. Or Five………………………………………………………………………………………………..11 Tidbit #2: Got Vision? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15 Tidbit #3: Beat the Clock………………………………………………………………………………………………………….21 Tidbit #4: Individualized Education Plans & Person-Centered Plans …………………………….. ………27 Tidbit #5: […]

A FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING [PDF]

Facilitator’s Guide:  A Framework for Planning© Facilitator’s GuideVersion 1, July 2006 Carol Blessing LMSW & Connie Ferrell LCSW ERSON-CENTERED PRACTICE and PERSON-CENTERED PLANNING ‘Person-centered planning’ has become an increasingly familiar term in the field of human services. Providers of services are always looking for better ways for helping the people to whom they are being […]

Ethics of Possibility [PDF]

John O’Brien 2006 Ethics is the quest of less and less trivial modes of human relatedness.–Herbert McCabe (1968/2003) When people count on personal assistants to make it through their day, what is possible for them depends to an important extent on the way those assistants show up in their lives. Assistants can show up in […]

Framework for Planning Personal Workbook_Sept 06. [PDF]

A Framework for Planning Personal WorkbookPurpose:A FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING Carol Blessing & Connie Ferrell Supporting people who have traditionally been left out of the mainstream of community life to become contributing citizens requires planners to be creative and thoughtful in their approach to providing services and supports that reflect the authentic “voice” of the person […]

Learning Journey Booklet

$20.00

Learning Journey Booklet

Available in bulk as packets of 10 for $20

Learning Journey Workbooks for Make a Difference: A Guidebook for Person-Centered Direct Support

Citizen Advocacy: Promise & Reality [PDF]

John O’Brien Citizen Advocacy (CA) may be a Red Squirrel John O’Brien – Aug. 2013 At a Georgia Citizen Advocacy conference in 2013, John surveyed the declining future of CA. Like the red squirrels, overwhelmed by more powerful forces – they are dwindling. The analysis is without blame, but a search to understand. Since 1976: […]

Thinking About Family Support [PDF]

THINKING ABOUT HOME AND FAMILY SUPPORT A Guide to the Literature with Selected Readings. John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien Feb 1983 Prepared for the Governor’s Council for the Handicapped and Gifted: Fairbanks, Alaska INTRODUCTIONThis is a companion to Planning Together, which is a handbook for people who want to plan improvements in home and […]

Marsha Forest Centre

Marsha Forest CentreInclusion • Family • Community The Marsha Forest Centre is a registered Canadian Charity formerly know as the Centre for Integrated Education and Community. Charitable Registration Number:  896480944RR0001 It was founded in 1989 to foster the development of inclusion. The Centre’s program focus is the development of future leadership for inclusion through the […]

Restorative Justice eBook

$25.00

What passes for justice in Canada is a system that too often brutalizes and isolates both victim and perpetrator: the former, bewildered, shattered, feeling victimized again by a process that fails to give satisfactory answers, fails to lay matters to rest; the latter, bitter, angry, alone, condemned to a hell called prison from which he emerges almost certain to repeat his crimes. The separate universes of victim and perpetrator, thesis and antithesis, need to be integrated into a whole, a synthesis, that does not perpetuate injustice but enables justice to flower. With shining examples like Randy Charboneau’s first-hand account of his own inspiring transformation, this revolutionary book tells us how – how to turn the worst transgressions of human experience into an opportunity for understanding and healing, a process known as restorative justice. A much-needed tome, clearly and compellingly presented. May it work its magic in helping to transform our society into a community where justice is not a competitive sport but an expression of the essential fairness possible in human interaction.

IDEAS THAT MATTER LIBRARY: September 2020 – April 2021

We initiated Virtual TSI events (Ideas that Matter) in September 2020, launched by our dear colleague, John McKnight. We had announced that the Summer Institute of July 2020 would be the final Institute. But due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we postponed that plan hoping to gather in person in July 2021. That couldn’t be either. We wanted […]

Lessons from GA Options [PDF]

Georgia Options Annual Training John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien March 2005 Participants shared stories that, for them, answer the question, “Why is doing supported living worth the work it takes?” They wrote headlines that summarize the main ideas in their stories. These two diagrams summa- rize the reported headlines. Holding on to one another […]

The VIRTUAL Toronto Summer Institute (TSI) Hub

There will be several Virtual TSI events over the year – leading up to TSI 2021 (July 10-15) when we hope we can gather together – and hug. In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter so you will be first informed (and can register) as new events are announced. offerings – some of which […]

The Star Raft Project

Learn more about Circles of Support:  View December 5 Star Raft Recording here The session explores the two maps (the boundary with the service system and the shoreline of authentic community), and then says, “So we’ve built a way, using a sailing metaphor, of activating that second map while still retaining the possibility of a creative […]

Dane Valedictory 1.0 [PDF]

John O’Brien 2018 The Passing of Dane County Supports for People With Developmental Disabilities Into Managed Care Accounts of organizational change are more often written from the perspective of those initiating change than from the point of view of those who are the objects being changed by those with greater power. This paper reflects the perceptions […]

John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien: Books, Articles and Videos

John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien Library John O’Brien and his wife and partner Connie Lyle O’Brien have been in the forefront of thinking and creating precedent setting innovations that helped to created full lives for people with disability labels the world over. In addition to developing many of the planning systems used internationally, training […]

Kick Em Out or Keep Em In: Exclusion or Inclusion – Forest & Pearpoint

Download – Kick Em Out Or Keep Em In – here by Jack Pearpoint & Marsha Forest Synopsis: Students who display severe behaviour difficulties, like all children, can and should be included in the mainstream of our schools and communities. The key to making it possible is relationships. It should be no great mystery that […]

SUMMER INSTITUTES: including McGill & Bolton UK – Videos

McGill Summer Institute – Montreal: talks by Judith Snow and Shafik Asante – poor video – but brilliant talks.. very rough – not good technical quality – but listening to Judith and Shafik for an hour is always a treat. McGill Summer Institute – Montreal – Photo Album – 1996 – The McGill Summer Institutes […]

Circle of Friends Videos (history)

Circles of Friends – U of Dayton – The Judith Snow Story – 1992 – Jack Pearpoint & Marsha Forest – This TWO part (one hour) presentation by Jack & Marsha tell’s Judith Snows Story and the origins of Circle of Friends… Being Together – NIMR – 1984 – A very early 1984 record of […]

PATH, MAPS & Person Centered Planning

PATH, MAPS and CIRCLES were developed to assist individuals, families and their support networks to plan positive and positive futures.  Circles came first (with Judith Snow), to discover who was in her life, to work to build an exciting and robust future.  MAPS had it’s origins in schools, to replace the medicalized files with stories […]

Executive Summary

PlayFair Teams: Engaging Students in Challenging Conceptions of Disability, Education, and Social Justice The overall project objective is engaging Canadian youth, with and without disabilities to increase awareness in schools and local communities of disability, education, and social justice. The project will be administered by the Marsha Forest Centre (MFC) and partners. The Marsha Forest […]

Cogworld [PDF]

John O’Brien John O’Brien – Dec. 2019 This paper explores the interlocking trends in managing our system of assistance for people with developmental disabilities that worry me deeply. The extent to which I am troubled shows in the argumentative tone of the paper, which is written as a position to initiate debate.  I am arguing […]

PlayFair Teams

$0.00

A PlayFair Team is a leadership opportunity for schools and students. In our experience, it is rare for a school to set about development of a long-term program aimed at strengthening the surrounding community on issues of social justice. Yet, this is exactly what schools talk to their students about through the curriculum. However, most often there is talk without action. What is missing is giving students opportunities to be involved in social justice, to take social justice to the community. What better way to accomplish this curricular aim than to become activists in the community around the school?

PlayFair Teams are a positive response by schools to the unfortunate fact that people with disabilities are not yet fully accepted members of our society.

Two Poets, Two Lives, Two Styles Yet the Same – eBook

$15.00

Two Poets, Two Lives, Two Styles Yet the Same:  This collection of poetry is eccentric – unusual – unanticipated.  Gary Bunch and Marsha Forest  represent radically different styles in life and poetry.  Gary – Scottish reserved.  Quiet in temperament; slow to anger; relentless in his quest for justice – for a fair education for all.  Marsha, an explosion of New York Jewish energy.  Marsha consumed rooms of families with her enthusiasm which offended some and enthralled others.    Her attacks on injustice could be seen and heard from afar. 

In their quiet moments, they both wrote poetry.  Typically, Gary wrote short pithy pieces although personal, the tone was objective and distanced.  Marsha, the total opposite.  Intensely personal stories of encounters and values.

The two styles of these life-long friends are captured in these opening thoughts.  Gary uses few words to express complex challenges of life.  Marsha exposes her story, her contradictions, her values, her soul.   Outrage leads to clarity and commitment to action, mostly in rhyming verse.  

Vive la Difference

The streets are exploding. People are getting hurt. There is poverty, racism, violence. Single parents, kids, gangs, drugs, booze — families — all are part of the explosion of life on the street — life in urban war zones.

Modern medicine — like most other institutions — is ill equipped to deal with this new reality. But it is here. There is no choice. Next week it will be more intense. Crack babies and multiple addictions will haunt all our corridors.

Two Poets, Two Lives, Two Styles Yet the Same

$20.00

Two Poets, Two Lives, Two Styles Yet the Same:  This collection of poetry is eccentric – unusual – unanticipated.  Gary Bunch and Marsha Forest  represent radically different styles in life and poetry.  Gary – Scottish reserved.  Quiet in temperament; slow to anger; relentless in his quest for justice – for a fair education for all.  Marsha, an explosion of New York Jewish energy.  Marsha consumed rooms of families with her enthusiasm which offended some and enthralled others.    Her attacks on injustice could be seen and heard from afar. 

In their quiet moments, they both wrote poetry.  Typically, Gary wrote short pithy pieces although personal, the tone was objective and distanced.  Marsha, the total opposite.  Intensely personal stories of encounters and values.

The two styles of these life-long friends are captured in these opening thoughts.  Gary uses few words to express complex challenges of life.  Marsha exposes her story, her contradictions, her values, her soul.   Outrage leads to clarity and commitment to action, mostly in rhyming verse.  

This book is free – courtesy of Gary Bunch and the Marsha Forest Centre.  There will be shipping charges.  Contributions are welcome.

Pathfinding Outfitters for Change Makers

Overview People with disabilities, their families and allies have great opportunities and face considerable challenges. One opportunity is to invest in a network of support for the next generation of leaders   We hope to strengthen commitment to activism that increases the possibility of deep change in the lives of people with IDD, their families, […]

Literacy & School Resource

U-CAN Dictionary Collection Useful Links… ASCD — Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. Excellent learning research and resources. AACAP — American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Learning and Work UK  — Resource collection from United Kingdom Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre — Resource listing from the University of Alberta. Extraordinary support for inclusive education. FRONTIER […]

PUBLISHERS, CATALOGUES & DISTRIBUTORS

  Amazon Books – just about the biggest bookstore anywhere… ASCD – Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. Excellent learning research and resources. Syracuse Cultural Workers – fabulous resources Brookes Publishing – Great resource, and excellent book catalogue California TASH – a great network to join – and explore CEC – Council for Exceptional Children – […]

DESIGNING SOLUTIONS

Amazon Books – just about the biggest bookstore anywhere… Cardinal Designs… Douglas Cardinal is an amazing Canadian Architect – Museum of Civilization and much more. He understands the ‘big picture’… and a book about Douglas Cardinal  and, for the home page of a village designed by Cardinal – visit Ouje-Bougoumou, Que. Comforty Media Concepts – […]

What can we count on [PDF]

What Can We Count On To Make and Keep People Safe? Perspectives on Creating Effective Safeguards for People with Developmental Disabilities John O’Brien, Connie Lyle O’Brien & David B. Schwartz 2004 The question—What can we count on to make and keep people safe?— frames an important perspective on the continuing work of building communities that […]

Acción para la Inclusión, Cómo Mejorar Las Organizaciones al Incluir Trabajadores – eBook

$0.00

This new Spanish book (with and English translation) was written by Carmen Maria Priante Breton to support Inclusion Facilitators in the workplace. It is based on, adapted and developed from the original book, “Action for Inclusion”.

ISBN – ebook – 978-1-987935-06-6
ISBN – pdf – 978-1-987935-13-4

What is Leadership? – Shafik Asante

Summary Shafik Asante was a remarkable Afrikan American leader. This short piece outlines his thinking about leadership. As a mail carrier is known as being a person who carries mail, a leader must be seen as a person who carries “leading ideas.” Leading ideas are not the same as good ideas. I want to concentrate […]

John O’Brien Articles: Systems Change and Leadership

John O’Brien & Connie Lyle O’Brien have been life long contributors and leaders to our understanding of yow systems work – and more important – how they can be changed. What More is Possible? John O’Brien & Beth Mount 2022 Knowing we are Upside Down (June.2021) Action Learning for Quality Improvement Adaptive Intelligence Basic Tasks […]

Who says MAPS and PATH Facilitators Have to be “Adults”

Many people who want to be MAPS and PATH facilitators get stuck when we insist that the process be co-facilitated i.e. uses two people, a graphic recorder and a process facilitator. They are concerned about costs, or finding a team-mate. This is where we need to be creative. Budget is hardly ever an excuse, especially […]

SOLUTION CIRCLE

Getting Unstuck A Creative Problem Solving Tool This is a short and powerful conversational approach that takes no more than a half hour. It is effective in getting “unstuck” from a problem in life or work. Solution Circles build on “community capacity”. It assumes and demonstrates that nearby people – in any community or work […]

Dream Catchers and Dolphins eBook

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This is a book about communication and mutual support.  It is also a book about observing mutual support in action… and the growth that can come from that.

At one level, it is about a person, actually a couple – confronting a crisis in life.  On the other hand, it is about a whole circle of friends – including caring, concerned people who might not have initially called themselves “friends”, and including friends who live not just close by, but are dispersed across the face of the globe.  And it is about this circle of friends all observing this crisis in the life of the couple;  observing the efforts to cope with the crisis; in turn, many of them deepening their own ability to understand and cope; and then pitching in to contribute – though their contribution – to the healing process of coping and surviving.     Dr. Paul Levy

The couple are Marsha Forest and Jack Pearpoint.  The friends are a global network who collaborated with them through this crisis.

Doing More with More [PDF]

John O’Brien National Federation of Voluntary Bodies – IrelandChallenging Times: Ensuring Values June 2011 People have better life chances when these things are true.They offer a measure of effectiveness. For example, we could test the effectiveness of special education + family supports by determining how many young people arrive at their 18th birthday able to say […]

Making a Difference – eBook

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In May, 1983, the Canadian Association for Community Living (formerly the Canadian Association for the Mentally Retarded) convened a group of approximately twenty people from across Canada in order to review developments in the field of prevention, to discuss the role of CACL and its member provincial and local associations in the field of prevention, to gain a better understanding of the role of the federal government in the field of prevention, and to develop a feasible action plan for future CACL in­volvement in this area.   The examples and stories in Making a Difference are about real people and real situations.

Evaluating Partners in Policymaking [PDF]

John O’Brien 2007 The question of evaluation comes up in at least four ways: Some of our (potential) funders want us to prove that they are getting “value for money” and they want us to demonstrate “outcomes”. Partners teaches about the importance of accountability, so we should practice what we preach. We want to learn […]

IMPACT

Impact distills the insights and deep wisdom of a great social innovator.  More than a practical guide, it is an invitation to re-imagine possibilities for our lives and the world.   This is a journey of transformation.. exploring patterns rather than problems.

Marsha Forest Centre Projects

Toronto Summer InstituteThe ‘summer institutes’ began in 1984 as a commitment to build leadership for inclusion. They have and continue to evolve. When the Centre was formed, it assumed the role of overseeing the institutes. This is a natural evolution. Inclusion Press was originally nested within the Centre – and as it grew, it became […]

Education & Inclusion: A Collection of Writings by Gary Bunch eBook

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Gary Bunch has been advocating, teaching and writing about Inclusive Education for over five decades. Given the extend of those writings, finding the particular wisdom that supports your needs is complex. Thus, Gary has made it simpler. He has gathered a selection of his working and edited it into convenient groupings. We know this resource will assist the work of inclusion to continue to move forward..

This collection is not a ‘regular’ download.  It is in fact an on-line index of pdfs that may be downloaded… but it is too large and complex to combine into a single file.  So visit, poke around, find the topics that interest you and download those..

And you will also discover that although this curated collection is extensive – it is a fraction of Gary’s writing.  Thus, you will find additional links to writings, videos and Gary’s wisdom.  Enjoy.

https://inclusion.com/inclusion-resources/change-makers/gary-bunch-archival-collection/education-inclusion-a-collection-of-writings-by-gary-bunch/

Generative principles: One Person at a Time [PDF]

Reflections on the Final Session Changing the World, One Person At a Time John O’Brien 2008 There are two ways to think about the positive examples we have been offered. We can focus on the differences between the setting that produced the example and our setting. This way of thinking lets us identify ways that we will […]

Louise Bailey’s Archive – to the Supreme Court and More

One of my (Jack) personal agenda’s is to be sure that at least ‘slices’ of the bitter and complex struggle for ‘inclusion’ – and inclusive education are on record and acknowledged. Rose tint and time can screen and even eliminate these stories. This is one slice of that history. Louise Bailey was/is a mother first […]

Marsha Forest Articles

All Means All – the But What-about Kids – Pearpoint & Forest Annie’s Gift – Forest & Pearpoint Becoming Regular Kids: Strully, Forest and Woronko Bringing Special Children Back – Forest, Toronto Parent.1984 Carla’s in High School. Forest & Deeley. 1990 Bob Perske Letter – 1999 Catherine’s Story. Forest. 1985 Change Gauge – Pearpoint & […]

Support Coordination – Complexity [PDF]

Working In ComplexityLessons For System Change From Support Coordination John O’Brien & Patti Scott Nov. 2019 Summary We advocate a strong view of inclusion and self direction that disrupts most current ways that publicly funded assistance to people with ID/DD are organized and delivered. Progress in realizing these values calls for deep change. We find […]

Intentional Teaming

$20.00

Intentional Teaming:  This book is important because we are not just being told how, we are being shown that it can be done. Intentional Teaming represents a much needed paradigm shift in the ways we work with and care for each other.  This book puts the person at the helm and offers concrete ideas for genuine support, pride, dignity and personalized participation of a labeled person and their support staff. You are going to love this book – and give it to everyone with whom you work.

Dissent from Consensus (2019) [PDF]

A Response to the NQF Person-Centered Planning & Practice Interim Report Carol Blessing, Marcie Brost, Beth Gallagher, Kirk Hinkleman, Peter Leidy, Beth Mount & John O’Brien Nov. 2019 The National Quality Form (NQF) has been funded by the Federal Administration on Community Living (ACL) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide a consensus […]

Importance of Choice . Severe Disability [PDF]

The Importance of Choice Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities Discovering Choice Conference John O’Brien Nov. 2000 – London A Sequence of Actions to Promote Choice • Augment: skilled use of technology to enhance communication, movement, attention, learning • Accommodate: environmental modifications to facilitate participation in community places & activities • Adapt: changing processes or requirements &systematically instructing to improve performance […]

Costs of Person-Centered Planning by Approach [PDF]

John O’Brien Nov. 2009 This is a rough sketch1 that arrays different approaches to person-centered planning in terms of their demand for investment in response to different levels of uncertainty. As uncertainty rises, so do the reasons to pay an increased transaction cost to build the clarity of purpose and level of alignment necessary to achieve […]

CASH BACK – understanding ‘reconciliation’

We have heard about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and it’s 94 recommendations. Mostly, we have heard words – with very limited action. The Yellowhead Institute in Canmore Alberta assembled 20 leading indigenous scholars who collaborated for two years. CASH BACK is a deeply researched challenge to our current values and suggests alternative ways to […]

Person Centered Planning in it’s Strategic Context [PDF]

Person Centred Planning In Itʼs Strategic Context Towards a Framework for Reflection-In-Action John O’Brien & David Towell March 2003 Canfield University In response to Valuing People, the number of people with learning disabilities experiencing person-centred planning is growing, and the number of people learning about person-centered planning is growing even faster. David Towell invited 28 people to […]

PATHFINDERS – eBook

$30.00

For a generation John O’Brien & Beth Mount have accompanied people with developmental disabilities, their families and the partners who support them as they find diverse paths to social inclusion and self direction. These pathfinders’ journeys change organizations and build communities that work better for everyone.

This book reflects what John and Beth have learned about assisting people and their families to make real progress toward living the promise of The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With stories, critical reflections, frameworks to guide change, and lessons from implementing person-centered planning and self-direction they explore these ideas:

Our common purpose as citizens is to contribute, each in our own way, to building communities that work better for everybody.

Also available in PRINT

Effective Behaviour Support [PDF]

John O’Brien & David Pitonyak Feb. 2011 People with disabilities whose behavior concerns others often rely on the skilled help of specialist staff. Their role has different names –including Behavior Specialist, Behavior Therapist, Behav- ior Consultant. Their effectiveness depends on their values and beliefs, their capacity to form and maintain good relationships, their ability to […]

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Political Rascals – in Georgia

The Political Rascals in Actionin Georgia Many of us have worked with Citizen Advocacy in Georgia – and Tom Kohler in particular. From that, a collection of people have become part of the Toronto Summer Institute extended family – attending workshops in Savannah and Toronto. One of their efforts was an extensive series of events […]