Comprehensive Individualized Curriculum and Instructional Design

Six Guiding Principles for Developing Comprehensive Supports 1. Plan with the individual and family 2. Promote self-determination throughout the assessment, intervention, and monitoring process 3. Examine the current and future inclusive environments 4. Utilize Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in developing modifications and supports within inclusive environments 5. Implement evidence-based practices to individualize instruction 6. Use data to make decisions to improve instruction Guiding Principle 1: Plan with the Individual and Family An essential first step to designing and implementing instruction for individuals with disabilities (IWD) is to plan with the individual and their family. Person-centered planning is a process used with IWD and others that is key to implementing supports for the individual (e.g., social workers, speech and language therapists, special educators). The purpose of person-centered planning is to establish positive, collaborative, meaningful, and individualized programs for IWD (Claes, Van Hove, Vandevelvelde, Loon, & Schalock, 2010). There are several person-centered planning models such as Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH; Pearpoint, O’Brien, & Forest, 1993), Personal Futures Planning (O’Brien & Lovett, 1992), McGill Action Planning (Vandercook, York, & Forest, 1989), and the Picture Method (Holburn, Gordon, & Vietze, 2007). All of these models are designed to center the supports and services for IWD with the individual and their families. 2