Meaningful Day Idea Book: First Edition
The Meaningful Day Idea Book is divided into selections that break down the concepts within the Meaningful Day definition. Each selection contains several Idea Papers that provide information and stories about Meaningful Day concepts.

We Want this Idea Book to be Meaningful!
The Idea Book is intended for anyone interested in supporting people with developmental disabilities to lead full and rich lives. We welcome your stories, thoughts, ideas and suggestions for making the Idea Book as useful as possible.
Click here to complete a feedback form.

Download the Entire Idea Book:
To download the entire Meaningful Day Idea Book in adobe pdf please click here. Note: Download times will vary.

Introduction

This selection provides an overview to the Meaningful Day Idea Book’s content, structure and purpose. It also acknowledges all of the people who helped create it.

• An overview of the Meaningful Day Idea Book…more
• Table of Contents…more

Supporting Individualized Access

This selection contains idea papers about tailoring paid supports to meet an individual's preferences and needs.  It also contains idea papers on supporting a person to get around and have the best possible access to his or her community.

• The Community Solutions Coalition: Vision, Values and Efforts to Build Inclusive New Mexican Communities…more
• Smoothing the Way: Communication and Physical Supports…more
• Finding Good Fits Between Direct Support Staff and the Person Served…more
• Staff Management Strategies to Support Individual Outcomes...more
• Getting Around: Transportation…more

Deep Connection with Ordinary Community Life

This selection provides practical tips for how to introduce a person to his or her local community and support him to become known as a respected, contributing citizen.

• Connecting to the Community…more

Wellness and Optimal Health

This selection contains ideas for supporting a person to use community resources in order to stay as healthy as possible in all aspects of his or her life.

• Health and Well-Being…more

Self Empowerment, Relationships, and Respect

The ideas in this selection discuss how to support a person to be in charge of his or her own life and how to support a person in building meaningful relationships with other people.

• Becoming a Part of the Community: Cultivating and Nurturing Relationships…more

Champions Assure Progress is Linked to the ISP

This selection contains information on building supportive interdisciplinary teams for a person using services.  It also contains information about DDSD's meaningful day definition and suggestions for documenting services related to a person's meaningful day.

• How to be a Champion: Ideas for Interdisciplinary Teams and Team Members...more
• How To Write A Good Definition of a Meaningful Day…more
• Tracking the Progress -- Documentation…more

And Yet More; Handouts, Training Tools and Other Resources

This selection contains various documents that are referenced in the idea papers.  It includes handouts, checklists, exercises and other tools that may be helpful in understanding how to support a person to have a meaningful day.

• To Find the Meaningful Day Coordinator in your area...click here
• It's Official: The Unabridged 3/1/06 Measurable Definition of a Meaningful Day…more
• Some Easy, Practical Ways to be an Ambassador for a Person You Serve…more
• Language Matters: Reframing How We Talk About People…more
• Advisory Council on Quality's Definition of Segregation …more
• Documenting Community Building Efforts: Tips for Staff (Make sure to print out on legal-sized paper!)…more
• Sample Meaningful Day Definition and Narrative…more

Return to Meaningful Day Home Page