Getting ready for Stage 2

Introduction

You have now completed the four chapters of Stage 1 – Preparing for change.

At this point you should have:

• an active support team

• a strategy for decision-making with your support team

• a high-level plan for your future

• a plan for securing any government or community supports you might need

Reviewing Stage 1

To ensure you are confident about your decisions, we recommend that you go back through the worksheets from Stage 1 with your support team to make sure you have identified all the things that are most important to you. This includes your values, your needs and your priorities.

If a lot of time has passed while working through the Stage 1 content, make sure that the early worksheets have been updated with any changes, so they truly represent where you are at right now.

If there is anything you feel unsure about, it is OK to go back and review the chapters again. Re-do the worksheets if you need to, until you feel confident to take your decisions to the next stage.

This resource is designed as a guide, but you can adapt the process in whatever way works best for you. There is no expectation that you need to progress in any particular order or at any particular speed.

Being open to change

It is common for people to think they have a plan in place and then feel disrupted when situations or goals shift. Keeping your plan flexible enough that it can change with you as you grow and learn will increase your chances of achieving success.

What to do if you need more help

If you have reached the end of this stage and are feeling really overwhelmed or lost, it might be worth reviewing who you have in your support team and whether you need to pull in any additional help. This might be a sign that you need to invite some more of your natural supports in to help you with this journey.  

Alternatively, you might need to look at a specific disability support service that can help you. Flying Kites offers a service that can help make goals like this happen; we can facilitate meetings with your support team, help you create your action plan, or give you advice about what to do next. These services can be paid for from your Individualised Funding, if you have it. More information is available from the Flying Kites website.