John O'Brien is a leading thinker who has written widely in the field of

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

. He is a pioneer and lifelong advocate of

Person Centred Planning Person-centred planning (PCP) is a set of approaches designed to assist an individual to plan their life and supports. It is most often used for life planning with people with Developmental disability, learning and developmental disabilities, thou ...

. To this end, he was co-developer of two models for person centred planning, namely the McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) and

Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) is a strengths-based person-centred planning process developed by John O'Brien, Marsha Forrest and Jack Pierpoint. The PATH process is designed to help a focus person establish their own vision for ...

. His values based approach emphasises learning with each person about the direction their lives could take, challenging and overcoming practices, structures and values that lead to segregation and underestimation rather than

inclusion Inclusion or Include may refer to: Sociology * Social inclusion, aims to create an environment that supports equal opportunity for individuals and groups that form a society. ** Inclusion (disability rights), promotion of people with disabiliti ...

, and an approach to change in people's lives based on 'imagining better'. His thinking is based on

Social Role Valorisation Social role valorization (SRV) is a method for improving the lives of people who are of low status in society. (In countries of the British commonwealth, the third word in the term is usually spelled valorisation, but the abbreviation is the sam ...

and the

Social model of disability The social model of disability identifies systemic barriers, derogatory attitudes, and social exclusion (intentional or inadvertent), which make it difficult or impossible for disabled people to attain their valued functionings. The social mode ...

. He is an Associate Editor of ''Mental Retardation'', and on the Advisory Boards of the Georgia Advocacy Office and Georgia PASS. With

Herbert Lovett Herbert Lovett (1949–1998) was an American psychologist known for his contributions to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. He was an advocate for inclusive support and equal access to education, work, housing, and human rig ...

, O'Brien co-wrote “Finding A Way Toward Everyday Lives,” a paper cited by others in the disabilities field as a significant reference point in the early development of

person-centered planning Person-centred planning (PCP) is a set of approaches designed to assist an individual to plan their life and supports. It is most often used for life planning with people with learning and developmental disabilities, though recently it has been a ...

. Sanderson, H. (1997). People, Plans & Possibilities: Exploring Person Centred Planning. Sanderson, the leading authority in the UK on person-centered planning, begins a book on the subject quoting O’Brien and Lovett: “Person-centred planning creates a compelling image of a desirable future and invites people to join with the person to make it happen.” Sanderson quotes Lovett & O'Brien a number of times throughout the book. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8772283W/People_plans_possibilities https://openlibrary.org/books/OL12252712M/People_Plans_and_Possibilities

Bibliography

*O'Brien, J. and Beth Mount. 2015, ''Pathfinders: People with Developmental Disabilities and Their Allies Building Communities That Work for Everybody'', Inclusion Press, Toronto *O'Brien, J. and Blessing, Carol. 2011, ''Conversations on Citizenship & Person-Centered Work'', Inclusion Press, Toronto *O'Brien, J., Pearpoint, Jack, & Kahn, Lynda. 2010, The PATH & MAPS Handbook: ''Person-Centered Ways to Build Community'', Inclusion Press, Toronto *O'Brien, J. and Lyle O'Brien, C. 1988. ''A Little Book About Person Centred Planning''. Inclusion Press, Toronto. *O'Brien, J. and Lyle O'Brien, C. ''Make a difference: A Guidebook for Person Centred Direct Support. Inclusion Press, Toronto *O'Brien, J. and Pearpoint, Jack. 2007, ''Person-Centered Planning with MAPS and PATH - A Workbook for Facilitators'', Inclusion Press, Toronto *O'Brien, J. and Lyle O'Brien, C. 2006. ''Implementing Person Centred Planning: Voices of Experience''. Inclusion Press, Toronto. *O'Brien, J. and Lyle O'Brien, C. 2000. ''Members of Each Other''. Inclusion Press, Toronto. *O'Brien, J. (2006) Reflecting on Social Roles: Identifying Opportunities to Support Personal Freedom & Social Integration *O'Brien, J., & Lyle O'Brien, C. (1998). The politics of person centered planning Part II. The Council, 15(2), 3. Towson, MD: The Council on Quality and Leadership in Supports for People with Disabilities. *O'Brien, J., & Lyle O'Brien, C. (1998). The politics of person centered planning Part I. The Council, 15(1), 3. Towson, MD: The Council on Quality and Leadership in Supports for People with Disabilities. *O'Brien, J., Lyle O'Brien, C. & Jacob, Gail., 1998, ''Celebrating the Ordinary: The Emergence of Options in Community Living as a Thoughtful Organization'', Inclusion Press, Toronto *Lyle O'Brien, C., & O'Brien, J. (2002). The origins of person-centered planning: A community of practice perspective. In S. Holburn & P Vietze (Eds.), Research and practice in person-centered planning. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.. *O'Brien, J. (in press). The genius of the principle of normalization. In R. Flynn & R. LeMay (Eds.), A quarter-century of normalization and social role valorization: Evolution and impact. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press. *O'Brien, J., & Lyle O'Brien, C. (1998). The politics of person centered planning. In C. Griffin, M. Flaherty, D. Hammis, R. Shelley, N. Maxson, & D. Spas (Eds.), Knowing the ropes: Reaching new heights in rural community employment (pp. 26–30). Missoula, MT: The Rural Institute, University of Montana. *O'Brien, J. (2002). Numbers and faces: The ethics of person-centered planning. In S. Holburn & P. M. Vietze (Eds.), Person-centered planning: Research, practice, and future directions (pp. 399–414). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

References

John O'Brien & Connie Lyle O'Brien: Books, Articles and Videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, John American disability rights activists Living people Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) Year of birth missing (living people)