Identify Your Goals

 

In this section, we’ll cover setting goals for your NDIS plan, based on the vision you developed in Topic 1: Build Your Vision. We will also explore some different ways to build your own goals that will set you up for success and keep you on track. 

How to Choose Your Own Adventure

Now that you have a VISION for your best life in mind we can move toward your goals. Goals help you achieve your best life and communicate what you want to your allies and supporters. They are also linked to your overall plan.

 

One strategy to identify your goals is to look at what kind of roles you would like to hold in your community. It is generally the roles in our lives that give us purpose, such as being a student, neighbour, employee, music-lover, sister or brother. These roles enable people to make a contribution to their communities and feel valued and respected.

 

Our view is that valued roles are key to the good things in life for everyone. When we have work, community, civic, relationship and recreational roles we have opportunity to meet people, develop our skills and project a positive image of ourselves to others.

 

Extra effort must be made to assist people with disability into valued roles, so they too can reap the wonderful benefits. Therefore, we can consider the roles you have and enjoy, those you want to stop, those you want to change, and those you want to explore, as a great way to set goals.

 

Based on valued roles and the vision you wrote in workshop 1, fill in the answer below:

 

My Vision and Roles

Designing a Goal

A Goal is any expression of something you want to achieve – be it keeping or getting a valued role or increasing the ways you participate in your life.

 

Using various techniques, we can create goals that align with your vision. Let’s try designing a goal that fits the vision of your life. Here is an example:

 

GOAL: To regain my hobby of doing one-off pieces of artwork in my own shed workspace AND showcase my artwork in a gallery or other location.

 

MY PLAN WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING GOAL STATEMENT(S):

• I am creative and love to paint, which I want to get back into. 
• I will create innovative and beautiful pieces that depict things of meaning to me and that I hope to sell. 
• I will create these pieces in my organised, safe shed workspace.
• I will work to ensure I can re-organise my studio so it is safe.
• I will hire support worker(s) to assist with my art including selling items.
• I will visit possible locations for showcasing my art.
• I will ensure my home roles are managed to enable art time (and manage my fatigue).

 

IN THIS PROJECT I WILL UNDERTAKE THE FOLLOWING STEPS TOWARD MY GOAL:

•  I will secure an NDIS package including funds to enable me to organise a safe art work space and a support 
   worker to support me in my hobby (safely).
• I will ask my family and friends to help me sort out my studio and set it up.
• I will ask my family and friends to help me choose what to paint.
• I will gain skills in talking to others about my art via visiting art galleries and shops.  

  
 Using these examples, the valued roles sheets, and other goal setting information, let’s now ​​​design a goal of your own:
 

Goal:

SMART Goals are Helpful…

It’s important to understand how GOALS are written and link into your overall Plan. There are several methods for building and developing good goals. SMART goals are great example.

 

SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting to ensure they are clear and achieveable:

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant)
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
• Achievable (agreed, attainable)
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)
• Time bound (time-based, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)

 

Watch this video below to learn how to set goals.

Pre-Planning: Goal Setting Strategies 

Now that we have covered some GOAL setting strategies and valued roles you can move to writing your own. 

Here are some key things to remember when we start this process:

• Don’t stress about the goal wording or details – just get some down
• They can be changed
• Be as BROAD as possible, so NDIS funds can be used
• All NDIS spending MUST relate to a NDIS goal

 

There is a whole process of how VISION to PLAN works. This is the basis of the SKILL series workshops. We will work together from vision, through to building a plan, taking action and then through to managing resources and supports.

 

 

NDIS Goals

When you set goals to be placed in your NDIS plan, the goals reflect what you hope to achieve in that 12-24 month period. If it's your first plan these will cover your immediate and essential needs.

Goals may focus on:

• how you will increase choice and control in your life 
• learning and education 
• work
• social and community activities
• investigating housing options
• improving your health and wellbeing

 

When choosing these goals try to: 

• Be broad but personalised
• Ensure flexibility
• Cover basics/existing needs 
• Ensure they will last all plan period
• Consider including new ideas each time you review your plan

---

Have a look in this video below at how Andrew sets his NDIS goals and think about how you could use your goals to meet your own needs.

---

These are example goals, think about what you might want to do, and the supports needed to do it:

Goal #1: To live with my family or independently

Goal #2: To maintain my health and physical well-being

Goal #3: To regain my _____________ (volunteering? work? part-time work? joining a club?).