Person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs: barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Over the past two decades person-centred planning has been used to support people with learning disabilities to fulfil their personal aspirations. This has been backed up by national policies that have adopted the principles of person-centredness. However, widespread barriers to the implementation of person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities have been reported and the literature suggests that implementing person-centred planning is particularly challenging for people with more complex needs.This article discusses the findings of a literature review that explored the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs and their carers. The article identifies barriers such as limited funding and resources, challenges in accessing services and communication difficulties. It also describes initiatives that appear to have successfully engaged service users and their carers in person-centred planning. Further research is needed into the long-term effects of person-centred planning for people with learning disabilities and complex needs, notably to measure its effectiveness in enhancing their quality of life, while strategies to enable them to engage in person-centred planning need to be developed.