Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE - Introduction ......................................................................1

Introduction.................................................................................................................1About the PPS .............................................................................................................1Keyboard and Mouse Instructions .............................................................................1Entering the PPS for the First Time ...........................................................................2Menus ..........................................................................................................................2Protecting your Password ...........................................................................................4

CHAPTER TWO - Person-Centered Planning...............................................5

What Person-Centered Planning Means ....................................................................5Vision for the Future...................................................................................................6Personal Goals.............................................................................................................6Skills, Services and Supports ......................................................................................7Selecting Appropriate Objectives ...............................................................................7

CHAPTER THREE - People ...........................................................................9

Opening a Chart........................................................................................................10The Open Chart ........................................................................................................10A Person’s Personal Goals ........................................................................................12A Person’s Plan .........................................................................................................13A Person’s Training Objectives ................................................................................15A Person’s Service Objectives...................................................................................15A Person’s Supports..................................................................................................16About The Person......................................................................................................17

CHAPTER FOUR - Documentation..............................................................19

My To-Do List ...........................................................................................................19Data Entry and Progress Notes.................................................................................20Reviews......................................................................................................................21Accidents and Incidents ............................................................................................21Event Log ..................................................................................................................22Overview Graph........................................................................................................24Logarithmic Graph ...................................................................................................25

CHAPTER FIVE - Reports............................................................................27

Available Reports ......................................................................................................27How the PPS Prints Reports .....................................................................................33

CHAPTER SIX - The PPS Libraries ............................................................ 35

The Assessments Library ......................................................................................... 35Master Plan Folders.................................................................................................. 36The Program Library ............................................................................................... 37The Rule of the Range of Steps................................................................................. 39Program Library Maintenance Tips ........................................................................ 39The Progress Steps Library...................................................................................... 40Task Analyses Library.............................................................................................. 42Performance Levels Library .................................................................................... 42Environmental Factors Library ............................................................................... 44

CHAPTER SEVEN - Utilities........................................................................ 45

Changing Your Password......................................................................................... 45Changing the Data Directory ................................................................................... 45Re-Indexing Data Files ............................................................................................. 46Logging In and Logging Out .................................................................................... 46

CHAPTER EIGHT - Common Activities ..................................................... 49

1) Adding Data......................................................................................................... 492) Generating Progress Notes .................................................................................. 523) Creating Review Notes ........................................................................................ 534) Adding New Training Objectives ........................................................................ 545) Adding New Service Objectives........................................................................... 576) Marking Service Objectives as “Done”............................................................... 577) Terminating Training Objectives........................................................................ 588) Producing the Individual Support Plan .............................................................. 58

CHAPTER NINE - Troubleshooting............................................................. 61

Recognizing Trouble when you see it ....................................................................... 61Getting out of the PPS correctly............................................................................... 62Types of Help Available............................................................................................ 63Things to try when you are in Trouble..................................................................... 63

C H A P T E R O N E

Introduction

About the PPS

The Personal Planning System (PPS) is a computer software program usedby agencies serving people with developmental disabilities. The PPS keepsinformation about people who receive services, and helps the agency useperson-centered planning to provide those services.

Person-centered planning is a relatively new (and better) way of providingservices. It has taken the place of the developmental model at agenciesserving people with developmental disabilities throughout the United States,and promises a better future for consumers of services. With person-centered planning, the wishes and desires of the person receiving servicesare paramount.

The Personal Planning System allows people to prepare person-centeredplans for other people. Usually people working at an agency that assistspeople with developmental disabilities do this, but sometimes people usethis software to keep track of services provided to just one person. The PPSassists in the production of the Individual Support Plan, accurately tracksthe results of services and the provision of supports, and documents theconsumer's progress toward achieving the goals and objectives stated in theplan.

Keyboard and Mouse Instructions

The PPS is mouse driven. By double clicking the left mouse button on thePPS icon, you can begin to load the PPS. When prompted to click ordouble click, you should press the left mouse button the number of timesinstructed, in rapid succession, to select and confirm your selection.

PPS allows the use of the keyboard as well as the mouse. When using thekeyboard, it is often necessary to hold down [Alt] or [Ctrl] keys whilepressing another letter to perform certain functions. If such a combinationis necessary, this text will list both those keys within the same set ofbrackets. For example, “Press [Alt-P]” means that you should press the [Alt]and [P] keys at the same time.

USER'S GUIDE 2

Entering the PPS for the First Time

To run the Personal Planning System, double-click on the PPS icon. The PPSwill open its data files while displaying its opening screen.

A menu block will open in the center of the screen. Before you can begin torun the program you must select your name from the list of authorizedusers. This can be done by double-clicking on your name or by typing thefirst few letters of your last name, and pressing [Enter] to confirm yourselection. Either way, you will be required to enter your password. Forsecurity reasons, each letter of your password will appear on the screen as anasterisk. After typing your password, press [Enter] and the PPS Main Menuwill appear.

Menus

At the top of the screen you can see the items which make up the PPS MainMenu. These items are titled:

People - Allows you to open a consumer folder, and shows informationabout the selected consumer, including Vision for the Future,Personal Goals, service programs, training programs and supports,and other important information

Documentation - Lists your To-Do List (the things the logged-in personneeds to do, and by when). Also available here, when achart is open, are Data Entry and Progress Notes,Reviews, Accidents and Incidents, an Event Log, and anOverview Graph.

3 INTRODUCTION

Reports - Provides a variety of reports for any or all consumers. Reports areorganized into these categories: data analysis, data collection,documentation, people, objectives, and other key information

Libraries - Contains the agency’s collection of assessments, trainingprograms, and training program components

Agency - Has pertinent information about staff, providers of care, censusinformation, and other key agency data

Utilities - Contains useful tools and necessities such as logging in andlogging out, changing your password, and information about thePPS

Edit - Includes a variety of editing features, such as spell checking; cut, copyand paste; undo; redo, and others

Exit - Allows you to exit the program and return to Windows

To “pull down” a menu, press the [Alt] key and the underlined letter in theheading of the menu you would like to open. For example, press [Alt-D] toopen the “Documentation” menu. A quicker method of selection would beto point to the desired menu item using the mouse, and click on the item toselect. For example, move the mouse to “Documentation”, and click theleft mouse button. Move the mouse pointer to the desired menu item, andclick the left mouse button again.

After one menu is open, you can move over to other menus by using the[Left Arrow] and [Right Arrow] keys. Use the [Up Arrow] and [DownArrow] keys to select the individual menu items, then press [Enter] toconfirm your selection (or click the mouse pointer on the desired item). Ifyou make a mistake and wish to return to the previous menu, press [Esc].

USER'S GUIDE 4

Protecting your Password

It is very important that you logout when your computer is not in use or isunsupervised. Selecting "Login/Logout" from the Utilities Menu does this.Remember that as long as you are logged in, anyone who happens uponyour unsupervised keyboard could access or alter sensitive data (includingyour password) or restricted program sections just as if he or she were you.

You must be especially vigilant at safeguarding your password. Do not trustanyone with it! Since anyone using your name and password will be viewedby the system as you, do not “loan” your password to anyone. Change yourpassword any time you suspect that your password is known. Changing yourpassword is done through the “Utilities” menu.

C H A P T E R T W O

Person-Centered Planning

What Person-Centered Planning Means

The Developmental Model asked us to hold each person up to the norms ofthe population, and determine what things the person could not do that mostpeople that age could do. The deficits that were identified were then “workedon” in an effort to remove them. The underlying implication was that theperson was “broken” in some way, and needed to be fixed. The most basicof the deficits became the objectives that were selected by the client’sinterdisciplinary team. Sometimes objectives were selected because theywere things which staff had to do for the person anyway (tooth brushing,for example), and it would be easier for the staff person if the skill wasestablished. When we were using the Developmental Model, we knew thatthe objectives we selected should have goal statements as well, but theseusually came after the selection of the objective, and were frequently justcategorizations, such as “Will improve self-help skills”, or “Will improvecommunication skills”.

Person-centered planning is the process of determining what a person’svision for the future is, and then helping her or him achieve it. Person-centered planning emphasizes the provision of exactly what the personneeds in order for personal goals to become reality. Changing theenvironment is emphasized instead of changing the person. Quality of lifeand opportunities for choice are more important than self-help skills or thealphabet.

Sound simple? The principles may be simple, but putting them into practicecan be very difficult. Many people receiving services are not able to expresstheir desires using traditional methods of communication. Sometimesfiguring out what a person wants is harder than providing it.

USER'S GUIDE 6

Vision for the Future

The purpose of the Vision for the Future statement is to set the stage forthe development of the consumer’s personal goals. Personal goals arespecific things the person and their family and friends are committed toaccomplishing. Much work can be put into the accomplishment of apersonal goal. It is important that all work towards accomplishing a personalgoal helps move the individual toward his or her vision for the future.

Before developing the vision for the future statement, it is important toknow where the person is now and where they want to be in relation to fivebasic categories of life. These are home, work, friends, fun, and learning.The PPS provides a worksheet to help gather information in these areas.

Determining (and revising) a person’s Vision for the Future is not an easytask. People who communicate well verbally can usually express their wantsand desires, but it can be a difficult and time-consuming task to determinethe desires of a person who has difficulty communicating. It is oftennecessary -and always desirable - to visit the consumer’s home and workareas, and to interview the consumer’s friends and those closest to him orher. Eventually, after research, the Vision for the Future is developed at theconsumer’s annual planning meeting.

Personal Goals

A personal goal is a specifically worded statement that describes somethingimportant to the consumer, and which the people helping the consumer arepledged to accomplish. Each personal goal has its own plan developed forit, describing the supports, services, and additional skills that will be requiredin order to accomplish the goal. A personal goal always has a target date,but the target date may be as short as a month or as long as five years.

The Personal Goals section of the PPS is used early in the person-centeredplanning process in order to help set the correct general direction for all theplanning and work that follows. It is often not easy, but you must get theperson to tell you his goals − what does he want to happen in his life thatisn't happening now. Each reason that he isn't doing that can be listed aseither a support that is needed, a service that must be performed, or a skillwhich must be learned.

Developing personal goals is the most important part of the consumer’sfirst annual meeting. In subsequent years, emphasis shifts to reviewing andrevising personal goals, and the plan to achieve those goals. Personal goalsusually stem from the Vision for the Future statements, but are always

7 PERSON-CENTERED PLANNING

something the person wants or needs. Whenever possible, personal goalsshould be stated in a person's own words.

When developing a useful plan for a person who has trouble expressinghimself, it is very important to solicit observations from family and caregivers concerning preferences and desires. This information can be used toselect goals. Be very careful to phrase this as “What does he seem to want?”and not “What do you want him to do?”

Sometimes agencies must develop a service plan for a consumer about wholittle is known. If a consumer does not communicate well and there isnobody available who has a relationship with the consumer it can be verydifficult to find out what the consumer wants. In this case you may decideto establish communicating desires as a goal.

Skills, Services and Supports

Skills, Services, and Support information can be entered into the PPS in thePersonal Goals section. All skills, services, and supports are intended tofurther the progress of one or more personal goals.

“Skills” is the label given to that part of the consumer’s support plan thatconsists of the consumer learning to do things that the consumer can’tcurrently do. "Services", or "Service Objectives", are those things whichstaff or other helping people can do for the consumer. "Supports" areservices that are arranged to occur on a planned, recurring basis.

Selecting Appropriate Objectives

Before the advent of person-centered planning, training objectives weresometimes selected based on such things as convenience of staff, availabilityof materials, or possibly because staff were only taught how to developcertain types of training programs. It was not uncommon for staff tosuggest programs such as toothbrushing, because brushing teeth issomething that must be done every day, and if the consumer is not capableof brushing his or her teeth, then a staff person must frequently do this forthem. Perhaps a bowling program was selected because plastic bowling pinsand a plastic bowling ball were available, or because a staff person enjoyedbowling. In person-centered planning, it is important that any objectiveselected is relevant to the person’s vision for the future.

Suppose that a person’s vision for the future included living with two goodfriends who have already moved to a group home. Upon discovering thatthe group home’s admission requirements included the ability to brush herteeth independently, it would then be perfectly reasonable to select atraining objective aimed at this. Let’s further suppose that our consumer has

USER'S GUIDE 8

expressed the strong desire to learn to bowl, and perhaps bowl in anevening league like she remembers her mother doing. Then teaching herbowling skills would be quite appropriate.

Only after knowing what the personal goals are for a person can we begin tojudge the appropriateness of an objective. The desires and interests of theperson receiving services are of the highest importance.

C H A P T E R T H R E E

PeopleThe first menu that you find on the PPS Menu Bar is the People menu. ThePeople menu allows you to open the chart of any consumer you have enteredinto the PPS. You can also add a new chart at any time.

When you click on People, a new menu will drop down. The first option isNew Chart. When you click this option, a new screen will pop up. This screenis labeled “Key Information”. This is the screen in which you will enter keyinformation about your new consumer. These are things you would want toknow about anyone for whom you are providing services, such as:

• Name• Social Security number• Address• Sex• Date of Birth• Marital Status• Medicare and Medicaid information• Billing information• Place of Residence

The Key Information screen is just one of ten consumer informationscreens. The other screens are: Skills, Income/financial data,Accounts/assets, Family and other contacts, Health Information, Team

USER'S GUIDE 10

Members, and Social Work. Each of these screens captures informationwhich is either typed in, or selected from a picklist.

Opening a Chart

When you click on Open Chart, a box titled People Served opens up, and a list ofthe names of your consumers appears.

Notice that the first name is always highlighted. To choose someone else onyour list, you can use either your arrow keys or your mouse, or you can begintyping the first initial of the person’s last name, and as much of the person’sname as is necessary to differentiate it from anyone else’s name. Forexample, suppose you have three consumers whose last names begin with“J:” James, Johnson, and Johnston. Typing JA will move your highlight toJames. You will have to type at least Johnst to get Johnston, rather than Johnson.

There are three things that you can do at the Consumer Selection Screen.You can (1) select a person, (2) exit to the Main Menu, or (3) chooseOptions, which will allow you to import or export a consumer. Importing aconsumer lets you copy a consumer’s file into the system from a floppy disk.You would choose to do this when the consumer has transferred to youragency from another agency that also uses the PPS. Exporting a consumer letsyou copy a consumer’s record onto a floppy disk. You would do this whenthe consumer is going to transfer to another facility.

The Open Chart

When you have selected the consumer of your choice, a new screen appears,complete with his or her picture (if you so choose). On the left side, underthe picture, is a listing of some of the consumer’s key information. On theright hand side is a listing of his or her Personal Goals.

11 PEOPLE

A slightly different set of menu items appears in the People Served Menu areawhen a folder is open. The top menu options become:

New Chart: The Key Information screen appears for you to enterinformation on a new consumer.

Another Chart: The People Served screen appears for you to select adifferent consumer.

Close Chart: This option returns you to the PPS Main Menu

In the bottom half of the menu box some additional items appear. Each ofthese items is specific to the consumer who has been selected, andconstitutes the components of a comprehensive plan of services. Since theseitems are only seen when a chart is open, the items are identified by the firstname of the consumer. These additional items are all part of an overall plan(the Individual Support Plan) and are intended to improve the quality of lifefor the consumer. They include:

This Person’s Vision for the FutureThis Person’s Personal GoalsThis Person’s PlanThis Person’s Training ObjectivesThis Person’s Service ObjectivesThis Person’s SupportsAbout this Person

Each of these submenu items contains additional information. If you hoveryour mouse on one of the menu items above, additional menu items appear.Let’s discuss each of these items separately.

A Person’s Vision for the Future:

Selecting Vision for the Future focuses on five different key areas of a person’slife. An “Other” category is also supplied. These six components are labeled:

1. Living Arrangement: This item relates to the consumer’s wishes forfuture living arrangements and information abouther present situation, as well.

2. Primary Activity: This refers to a person’s primary activity duringweekdays, and can include, for example, work, pay,and specific working conditions that she needs andwants.

USER'S GUIDE 12

3. Friends: This section is about the consumer’s social sphere, in regard tofamily, friends and other social contacts. It speaks to herpresent situation as well as her desires for the future.

4. For Fun: This section is about what the consumer likes to do for fun andrecreation presently and desires and needs for the future.

5. Learning: Refers to current learning objectives and activities and whatfuture skills and learning activities the consumer would like tohave and do.

6. Other: This is a miscellaneous category and addresses any other areas notcovered by the above which are important to the consumer.

The PPS User’s Guide provides a worksheet that can be used to gather thisinformation (See Appendix A), and the PPS screens hold this information intwo ways – the Vision for the Future, and the Current Situation. The PPSprovides a Vision for the Future Report, and the information can also bemerged from the PPS into the person’s annual Plan.

A Person’s Personal Goals

One of the most important elements (if not the most important) of theIndividual Support Plan is the consumer’s own stated goals for her life. Let’stake a look at the screen where Personal Goals are entered. You can see theNumber and Name of each Goal, when work on the goal is to start, the targetdate for when work should be completed, and the priority rating of the goal(Highly desirable, Strong preference, Non-Negotiables, etc.). Below these is asection for notes, reflecting the Goal as indicated by the person, as well as Goal asstated by people close to the person (who may be family, friends, or staff members).

13 PEOPLE

Finally, the third area lists any barriers that may need to be overcome by theperson in order to accomplish the goal. The status of each barrier is thenselected from a picklist. The options are, “Not Yet Addressed”, “BeingAddressed by Training Objective”, “Being Addressed by Service Objective”,“Was Addressed by Training Objective”, “Was Addressed by ServiceObjective”, “Addressed without formal Objective”, and "Will be Addressed".

Each barrier to accomplishing this goal is then listed as a required skill,service or support. Some of these barriers can be addressed by ServiceObjectives to be carried out by staff. Others may involve Training Objectivesso that the consumer may develop the necessary skills to attain her goals.

When a personal goal is being considered, a Personal Goal Worksheet shouldbe filled out (see the Appendix). The wording of the goal is developed onthe top part of the form, and the plan of attack for accomplishing this goal isdeveloped using the lower part of the form. All of the services and supportsthat might help accomplish this goal are listed, along with columns forpossible target dates and responsible people. After considering possibleservices and supports, it frequently becomes apparent that the consumermust learn one or more new skills before the goal can be accomplished.When additional skills are needed, training objectives are used to accomplishthis, but many times the creative use or invention of supports can take theplace of a training objective.

A Person’s Plan

The Individual Support Plan contains assignments that must be done by staffto create and implement the Plan. Unlike Service Objectives, they do notdirectly address the needs of the person receiving the service, but rather arenecessary activities in order to produce the consumer’s Individual SupportPlan (ISP).

USER'S GUIDE 14

Ordinarily, the person designated as the consumer’s Reviewer, or CaseManager serves as coordinator of the group’s planning efforts and uses thissection of the PPS to monitor the consumer’s entire plan, and to reassignstaff responsibilities when necessary. Other staff members generally go toDocumentation – My To-do List at least once a week to find out what things theyneed to do. Each staff member’s To-Do list only contains those things forwhich he or she is responsible, and those things that are scheduled to startbut not yet done.

The PPS comes with a “Learn” directory that includes a consumer namedElizabeth Crandall, so you will see her name used regularly as an example. Tosee the items that make up Elizabeth’s Plan, click on People, and thenElizabeth’s Plan. A screen will pop up called ISP Assignment Plan folders forElizabeth Crandall.

There will be an item here for each plan your agency has developed for thisperson using the PPS. If you wish to add a plan, click the [Insert] button,and a new box will pop up. Type in the Target Date of the new ISPAssignments, the ISP Meeting Date, ISP Meeting Time and then either click[OK] if your changes are correct, or [Cancel] if you change your mind.

15 PEOPLE

A Person’s Training Objectives

If you hover your mouse pointer over the person’s Training Objectivesmenu, a list appears showing all of the active training objectives for theperson whose folder is open. By moving your mouse pointer to an objectiveand clicking, you can enter the area of the PPS where the details of eachobjective are kept. This section is used both for assigning objectives to yourconsumers, and for making any desired changes in training objectives alreadyassigned.

There are four computer screens that hold information about trainingobjectives. These screens are labeled:

q Customize Objectiveq Progress Stepsq Implementationq Training Schedule

Note the status bar on the left side of your screen. It tells you immediatelywhere you are located in the process of assigning or editing a trainingprogram.

A Person’s Service Objectives

Service Objectives are services which staff provide for a consumer. You mustassign each service objective both a number and a name. The “completed”column is a date field that will only be filled in when the service objective hasbeen accomplished.

Each service objective has both a start date and a target date. Click [Review]if you want a reminder note about this service objective automatically enteredinto the consumer review note during all reviews done prior to the objectivebeing accomplished.

USER'S GUIDE 16

Service objectives can be categorized as "one time only", "every so manymonths", or "every so many days". If you choose months or days you mustenter a number. You must select one of these options for each serviceobjective you add. The person responsible for accomplishing this serviceobjective is then selected from a picklist of all staff.

After selecting the responsible person, you will enter the data entry arealabeled “Instructions”, where you may find further information regarding thisservice objective. Pressing [Tab] will move you to the Notes Section, whereyou can at any time make any notes you wish concerning this serviceobjective. When you are done, click [OK].

A Person’s Supports

Supports are any special assistance needed by a person in order to participatefully in their community. Support information presented here by the PPSincludes screens for each of the following:

q Ongoing Supportsq Family and Friendsq Team Membersq Medicationq Scheduleq Assistive Devices

Each of these screens is organized in the same fashion. Whichever item ishighlighted on the top part of the screen has its details revealed on thebottom part of the screen.

17 PEOPLE

About The Person

The Personal Planning System keeps track of a great deal of information.The “About the Person” section of the PPS includes screens of informationwhich have been labeled Key Information, Health, Behavior, Skills, Social,Financial, and DSM-IV.

The DSM-IV screen allows for the choice from a list of diagnoses. The fiveaxes are: Clinical Disorders, Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation,General Medical Conditions, Psychosocial and Environmental Problems, andGlobal Assessment of Functioning. In each of the first four areas, you caninsert a diagnosis from a picklist or type in the findings for that axis. Axisfive guides the user through selecting a number between one and onehundred to represent functioning level.

Once the information has been entered, you can click “Done” once to returnto the People Menu, or click “Done” twice to return to the main menu.

USER'S GUIDE 18

C H A P T E R F O U R

DocumentationThe second menu item on the PPS Main Menu is called Documentation.Since the PPS already knows who is logged in at this point, what reallycomes under the Documentation menu is the To-Do list of the person whois currently logged in.

My To-Do List

Your To-Do list includes those progress notes, review notes, serviceobjective notes, assessments, and ISP assignment items that are due andhave not yet been done, in either the open chart, or all charts.

How Items Get On Your To-Do ListYesterday you might have logged into the PPS, checked your To-Do list,and found nothing there, but today you logged into the PPS and found youhad three things to do. How did that happen? How do items get on yourTo-Do list? When recurring service objectives, recurring assessments, orrecurring ISP items are assigned the first time, one piece of information thatis entered is how many days the person has to do the job. This informationis used to make recurring items reappear.

Understanding How Recurring Items WorkHere is how it works. Say you have a support that must be performed everyyear, perhaps driving Dorothy for an afternoon visit with her aunt. Whenyou assign this support, you might choose to enter “21” as the number ofdays advance notice desired. If you drive Dorothy to visit her aunt on May

USER'S GUIDE 20

10th, and report to the PPS that you did so, your responsibility to driveDorothy to her Aunt’s house will vanish from your To-Do list. It will stayvanished for exactly 344 days. Twenty-one days before the next May 10th

this support will automatically appear once again on your To-Do list.

Marking Items as DoneThe items on your To-Do list are there for a reason – to remind you thatyou accepted an obligation, and that you have not yet fulfilled it. When youperform as necessary and do fulfill your responsibility, you will want toremove the item from your To-Do list. This can be done very easily. Theonly thing that is required is that you provide the date the item wasaccomplished. You are also given the chance to write a note about theevent.

Data Entry and Progress Notes

Specific information on what a consumer has been trained to do is enteredin the Data Entry and Progress Notes section. After all the data for aprogress period (for most people a progress period is one month) has beenentered, the PPS produces a progress note that summarizes the period, andtells us if we are going backward or forward. Both the data and the note areused in other parts of the PPS, including Reviews and Reports.

Your consumer's active objectives will be shown in a menu box, along withthe objective number. Click on the desired objective using your mouse, oruse the arrow keys to select the proper objective and press [Enter]. Afterselecting the objective, the Progress Information screen will appear. Theconsumer's name and objective number are given on the top line.

There are three main areas of the screen in Progress Information. The firstis the Menu Bar located at the top of the screen. From here you can selectgraphs, progress notes, the Event Log, and other things. The second area isthe Session Records located on the left area of the screen under the graph.

21 DOCUMENTATION

By clicking on this area you can insert, delete and edit sessions. The thirdarea is the Data Entry section. Under the Menu Bar is a graph of thesessions recorded. Dates are shown on the X-axis of the graph, and steps inthe objective are in ascending order on the Y-axis. Note that if you areentering data for a newly added objective, the graph will begin on theobjective start date, and terminate on today's date. Obviously, any dataentered must be between these two dates. On the right side of the screen arethe steps available for this program. The lower right section contains acalendar of the current month you are working on.

Reviews

Many documentation standards require that a member of the consumer'sinterdisciplinary team perform a regular periodic review of the consumer'soverall performance. This frequently takes the form of a comment abouteach of the high priority objectives, as well as a general summation of theconsumer's well being for the period.

To choose Reviews, click on [Documentation] and then click on [Reviews].Click on [OK] to accept the Period Beginning and Ending dates for thereview. The PPS will load your word processor, and a document will appearin the bottom portion of the screen. This is the beginning of your reviewnote, and includes today’s date, the consumer’s name, consumer number,consumer's date of birth, and a listing of objectives, criteria statement, andmost recent progress note. A daily graph for the current month will appearin the top portion of the screen, and a list of choices will be on the right.These choices include: Next Period (next period for this objective), PreviousPeriod (back one), Daily graph, All Periods Graph, Progress Note, Cut toClipboard, Next Objective, and Done.

Accidents and Incidents

The PPS provides this section so that you are able to record accidents andincidents that may result in injury to a consumer.

After selecting Accidents and Incidents from the Documentation section ofthe main menu, you will see the main Accidents and Incidents screen forthis consumer. Enter the date of occurrence, the time of occurrenceincluding an a or p (for am or pm), the living unit of the person who hadthe accident or incident (if different than the default), and the nature of theaccident/incident.

USER'S GUIDE 22

The cursor will now be in the bottom left window. Here you can enter theplace of the accident/incident (from a picklist), the aggressor’s first and lastname (if there was one), a witness’ first and last name (if applicable), thenurse and doctor involved (from a picklist), and any additional information.After this, answer the questions “Told Parent?” and “Told Advocate?".Following this are two notes fields that allow input of the account andresponse.

Completing this section will activate the bottom right window. Here youwill be able to enter "Body Part", "Injury", and "Severity" from picklists.You can enter as many of these as you need to fully describe injuriesresulting from this one accident/incident.

Event Log

The Event Log allows staff to record a variety of events. Upon selectingEvent Log from the Documentation Menu you are presented with the mainEvent Log screen for the selected consumer. The top half of the screen liststhe log entries, the date the entry was written and the person who wrote theentry. You can scroll through the entries listed by using the up and downarrow keys or the mouse and scroll bar located at the right edge of thescreen.

Information regarding the current highlighted entry is found in the lowerhalf of the screen. This information includes the event, the category, thediscipline, the writer, the date of the entry, the time of the entry and thedescription that is the actual note itself.

When you insert a new entry, the first blank field you will be on is theEvent. This is where you would put the title of this log entry (i.e. the eventitself, such as Medication Change). The next two fields, "Category" and"Discipline" are picklists, from which you simply choose the correct item.These can be modified under the Utilities/Modify Picklists menu option ifneeded. The next item is the writer. Since you are the writer, this

23 DOCUMENTATION

information is automatically inserted for you and cannot be modified. If,however, this is an entry that was converted from an old PPS Event Logthat you are modifying, and not a new entry, you will be able to select awriter from a picklist of staff (if you have an appropriate security level). Thislevel is set in the security setting under Event Log / Edit. The next twofields, Date and Time, are also automatically filled with the current date andtime, but can be modified if needed. Finally, the Description field is whereyou enter the actual note information itself.

Once you have written a note, select [Done] or [OK] at the bottom right ofthe screen to save it. Other people will be able to view notes written by youbut will not be able to edit or change them. Likewise, you can only modifyor delete notes that you have written.

While you are in the viewing mode (not editing a log entry) the PPS allowsyou a filter option to view only entries that you wish to see. Click on the[Options] button found on the button bar in the center of the screen toopen a window that allows you to select your view preference. You canselect to only view entries by a certain author (writer), or for a certaincategory, or for a certain discipline, or any combination of the three. Forexample you could select to only view log entries written by Steven Russellthat are treatments for physical therapy. To select your view preferences,simply click on the check box next to the filter you want, such as author. Anauthor’s name will appear to the right in the highlighted color. To the rightof the author’s name is a down arrow. When you click on the author’s nameor the down arrow, a picklist will pop up, allowing you to choose from a listof all people that currently have log entries. Simply choose the one youwish. After making your viewing selections, click [OK] to return to theviewing mode. You will now only have entries listed according to yourviewing preferences. Selecting [Done] will exit you from the Event Log area.

USER'S GUIDE 24

Overview Graph

The Overview Graph provides an excellent way to see overall performancesin a visual representation. Several Daily Graphs can be combined on oneaxis with vertical lines indicating significant events that might haveinfluenced progress. This allows you, for example, to document medicationreductions as required by standards. The graph quickly communicates theeffect of the events on progress.

To run the Overview Graph, first select the person using "Open Folder",and select "Documentation - Overview Graph". You will see a list ofobjectives to choose from, but, unlike most such lists, making a selectiondoes not make the list go away. Instead, the selected title appears on theright side of the screen and the left side awaits your next selection. Continueto select the objectives you wish to view, then click the "Continue" buttonwhen you are done.

Next is a list of significant events with dates and a yes/no column toindicate whether each should be shown on the graph. Examples would bemedication changes, trips to relatives, or people becoming a part of (orleaving) the person's life. After inserting any new changes with the [Insert]button, click on [Done].

The next question is "Number to graph" question. Selecting "Percentage oftop step" makes the graph divide the progress step by the highest stepnumber and graph that. For instance, if we were on Step 3 of a 6 stepprogram and step 8 of a 16 step program, the dots would be the same heighton the graph, because both programs were halfway completed. Selecting the"Step Number" button causes the actual progress step to be graphed. This isparticularly useful for programs where you want the step number todecrease. You can look at the graph and quickly pick out the actual step theperson was on for any date.

The graph appears on the screen with each objective showing in its owncolor and symbol. On the right side is a legend showing objective numbers

25 DOCUMENTATION

and their color symbols. The dates across the bottom go from the firstsession recorded for any of the selected objectives to the last. Anysignificant events outside that time span are left off the graph. The idea is tosee the effect of the significant events on the progress of individualobjectives. You can press F2 to print the graph.

Logarithmic Graph

A logarithmic graph is used to show frequency of behaviors in a way thatde-emphasizes high frequency extremes. A logarithm of a numericfrequency is a number that 10 would have to be raised to the power of toproduce the frequency. The logarithm of 100 is 2 because ten to the 2power is 100. Since there is no logarithm of 0, the graph has a discontinuitybetween the lowest nonzero amount and 0. You will notice that the distancebetween lines gets smaller for the first 10 lines. These represent (on thegraph by week) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The distance increases againfor the next line, because it is not 11 but 20. It then goes 20, 30, 40, 50, 60,70, 80 90, 100, again getting closer together as the numbers increase. Thereare six such bands in each graph.

The logarithmic graph is selected from the Documentation Menu when afolder is open. You are asked to choose from these three options:

Frequency per minute, one point per day - This choice covers the last140 days. No assumption is made for this graph that all the behaviors havebeen observed. The frequencies for the sessions that day are summed anddivided by the total number of minutes to get a frequency to graph. Thevertical lines represent Sunday of each of the 20 weeks.

Frequency per week - This choice covers the last 100 weeks. Minutes arenot used here, only the total recorded instances. The vertical lines representthe first day of each month.

USER'S GUIDE 26

Frequency per month - This choice covers the last 120 months. Minutesare not used here, only the total recorded instances. The vertical linesrepresent the first day of each of 10 years.

C H A P T E R F I V E

ReportsThe Personal Planning System provides more than sixty reports that caneither be viewed on the screen, sent to the printer, or to a file. These reportshave been placed into nine categories.

Available Reports

q Data Analysis

1. Assessment Changes: Compares assessments and reportsanything that has changed

2. Environmental Factors Analysis Graph: This graph showswhich factors are most often present when the client exhibitsmaladaptive behavior

3. Print Progress Graphs: Offers a report of the client’sobjectives, which includes the All Month’s Graph and the mostcurrent Daily Graph

4. Total Task Graph: This graph shows how many times eachperformance level was recorded for each task element, and canhelp identify which task elements need the most training. It alsoincludes the objective statement and a table that lists thepercentage of trials at or above each performance level

USER'S GUIDE 28

q Data Collection

1. Data Collection Form: A form including the strategy, steps,etc., for any given program, with space for staff to record data asthe program proceeds

2. Data Collection Form with Dates I: This is identical to theData Collection Form, except dates are printed on the form, usinginformation from the client’s schedule

3. Data Collection Form with Dates II: This report is similar toData Collection Form with Dates I, except for formatting. Steps godown the side of the page and dates go across the top andbecause of this format, the finished sheet looks like a graph

4. Learning Sessions Detail Report: For each client’s objective,this report lists Objective number; trainer; reported progress step; numberof minutes trained; and, cost per session. It provides subtotals ofminutes, the cost for each objective, and grand total for theselected title

5. Learning Sessions Summary: This PPS report lists the totalnumber of minutes trained and total cost of the sessions for aspecified time period by client and responsible person. It alsocontains the total of training minutes, as well as cost by client

q Documentation

1. Accidents/Incidents: This report lists clients who haveaccident and incident information entered into PPS, by name,date of accident, aggressor, body part injured, and living unit.

2. Event Log: This list would contain pieces of information forwhich there was not a program or objective in place for aspecific client. This list might point to a need for developing aspecific program for him related to the event

3. Notes Ready for Printing: This is a list of progress notesready to be printed, including the client’s name, onjectivenumber, the date the note was written, and the responsibleperson

4. Progress Notes: This option prints completed progress notes

5. Progress Notes Summary: This report prints a summary ofthe All Periods Graph, followed by all unprinted progress notesdone since the objective start date for each objective

29 REPORTS

6. Training Objective Listing: This is a listing of responsibleperson, implementation date, strategy, steps, scales, taskanalyses, performance levels, and program schedules for aparticular client.

q Library

1. Environmental Factors Listing: This report lists all the setsof environmental factors created for behvioral reduction programs,along with their various uses

2. Performance Levels: This is a listing of each Performance Levelin the Library. Long and short versions of each performancelevel are listed, as well as training objectives and objective libraryprograms using each specific Performance Level

3. Program Listing: This provides a full page listing, includingobjective statement, strategies, and steps for one or moreprograms in the Program Library

4. Program Tree: Using this report generates a “tree” listing forone or all branches of the Program Library, and includes thedomain, categories, items, and program names. You can print one or allfrom domains, categories, items,and programs. If you want to printonly one program, you must choose one domain, one category, oneitem, and then one program. If you want to print one category, youchoose one domain and then one category, and leave all items and allprograms

5. Progress Steps: This is a report of each set of progress steps inthe Library. The long and short versions are listed, along withtraining objectives and Library programs using a this specific setof progress steps.

6. Task Analyses: This is a report of each set of Task Analyses inthe Library. Long and short versions of each Task Analysiselement are listed, as well as the training objectives and objectivelibrary programs using the specific set of Task Analyses.

q Management

1. Daily Census: This report provides a tally of the number ofclients entered into the system, for a specific day

2. Daily Census Recording Sheets: Is a report noting the censusof a particular location for a particular date and time, to besigned by the responsible person. There is also space to makecorrections, if needed

USER'S GUIDE 30

3. Objectives with No Progress: This report lists clients byname, objective numbers, objective titles, and number of periodswith no progress

4. Progress Factor Report: . Using data already entered, thisreport can predict if and when an objective may beaccomplished. A progress factor of 1.0 would indicate that theclient could reach the top step on the target date, and with ahigh confidence factor, we can be a little surer that the objectivewill be reached close to the projected date

5. Progress Factor Report by Staff: This report has the sameinformation as the above report, but orders and summarizes theobjective progress factors by person responsible for training, insteadof the person being trained

6. Status of Progress Notes: This report lists, by month, thestatus of progress notes, both current and due, and includesclient, objective number, responsible person, and the date thenote is due

7. Utilization Review: This reports lists Utilization ReviewInformation organized by clients and notes the date UR Infowas last updated. Information listed includes such things as: notenot done, no progress made, less training than scheduled, and regressions.For each problem identified, the objective number, responsibleperson, and a relevant date are provided

8. Utilization Review by Responsible Person: This report liststhe Utilization Review Information by Responsible Person and givesthe date the UR Info was last updated. Information listed It alsoincludes such things as: note not done, no progress made, less trainingthan scheduled, and regression. For each problem identified, theclient’s name, objective number, and a relevant date are provided

q Objectives

1. Objectives by Responsible Person: This is a listing of client’snames, objective numbers, objective titles, start date, start step, current step,target date and total number of steps for each program the person isresponsible for training. It may be run for one person, but if youare running this report For All, each responsible person’sinformation begins on a new page

2. Objectives Report: This report lists clients alphabetically by lastname and includes the objective number, responsible person and theobjective statement

31 REPORTS

3. Service Notes Summary: This is a summary of all Servicenotes by client, by objective number, objective title, for aspecified time period. It can be run for one person or for all

4. Service Objectives: This lists the Service Objectives by clientfor one client or all clients. It includes the Service Objective(SO) number and title, The Service Objective Statement andNotes, the beginning Date and the Target date for each serviceObjective

5. Terminated Objective History: This report is a listing ofobjectives that have been terminated. They are listed by: client,with start and target dates, and the reason the program wasterminated

q People

1. Birthdays: This report, sorted by months of the year, lists thepeople served, their locations, and birthdays

2. Birthdays (Staff): A list of staff birthdays

3. Contact Labels: Creates three-across mailing labels for clientcontacts

4. Contact Report: Provides a listing of clients’ contact persons,their addressed and telephone numbers

5. Current Staff: This lists staff members alphabetically (by lastname) their position, and their work location

6. Employment Anniversaries: Lists by month, and includes staffname, position, location, and anniversary date

7. Key Information: Provides a report of key information abouteach client from the Key Information Screen, such as Client number,Social Security Number, address, gender, etc.

8. Mailing Labels: Provides three-across mailing labels for clientsserved

9. People Served: This is an alphabetical listing of people servedby your agency. It lists name, client number, location, age, andlatest IPP date

10. Provider Labels: Prints one-across mailing labels for providers

USER'S GUIDE 32

11. Staff Labels: Prints one-across mailing labels for all staffmembers

12. Years of staff service: This generates a report listing staff bylength of service

q Planning

1. Annual Review Schedule: Using the ISP dates you supplied inthe client data, this report lists by month, each client, the clientnumber, location, client age, and date of the last IndividualSupport Plan

2. Assessments: This prints the comprehensive functionalassessment elements assigned to each client, with results fromprevious years. You may choose to include blanks to ill out forthis year (Data Sheet) or not (Print Final Results). You may printassessments for all people, one person, or the Library Report whichincludes assessments which are not assigned. In addition, youare given the choices of printing (1) one assessment; (2) allassessments; or, (3) all assessments, one per page

3. Data Dictionary: This report provides information on all PPSdata files and their field names

4. Individual Support Plan: This uses the word processor’sMerge feature (depending on which word processor you haveselected) to produce an Individual Support Plan

5. ISP Assignments: This report list ISP elements, in alphabeticalorder by client’s last name. It includes the staff assignment number,title (responsible person listed under the title), the element, assigneddate, and target date

6. ISP Customization Guide: This report provides the fieldnames needed to use Word or WordPerfect and the checklist tocustomize the the Individual Support Plan

7. Master Plan Folders: This is a listing of all program objectives,by number, title, and assignments for completion

8. Personal Goals: This report provides a listing of personal goalsfor each client

9. Service and Assignments: This report is a combination ofservice objectives and staff assignments. In alphabetical order byclient’s last name, it produces a list of staff assignments and

33 REPORTS

service objectives by number, title (responsible person’s name isunder the title), the element, assigned date, and the target date

q Schedule:

1. Daily Location Schedule: A schedule, by location, showstraining times, program numbers and titles, clients, andresponsible people can be created for any given date. Theschedule includes global and individually scheduled items

2. Daily Schedule: This report will show what clients havescheduled for the day and for which program you should recorddata today

3. Daily Staff Schedule: As with each schedule listed above, thisreport shows a schedule for a particular day for one or all staff

4. Master Schedule: This option prints a client master of allscheduled training objectives and global schedule items. Thisreport includes time, duration, days scheduled, purpose,responsible person, and location

5. Schedule Compliance: This report is run for a given timeperiod and lists all instances of a session being scheduled, exceptfor sessions conducted that day. Scheduled sessions missed andactual learning sessions conducted are listed at the end of eachobjective and are given for the period. The report will alsoindicate if an objective had no scheduled session or no missedsessions

6. Staff Master Schedule: This option prints a master schedule ofall scheduled training objectives of any given staff member. Itincludes time, duration, days scheduled, client, purpose, andlocation

7. Supervisor’s Master Schedule: This option prints a masterschedule of all scheduled training objectives for all staffmembers, in order of time of day. It includes, time, duration,days scheduled, responsible person, client, location, andpurpose.

How the PPS Prints Reports

For many of the reports, you will be given options of selecting whether youwould like the report to be printed for “One” or “All,” the destination of thereport (to the printer, to the screen, or to a file), the number of copies, as

USER'S GUIDE 34

well as possible filtering conditions. You can print a report for all applicablerecords or you can select a subset. By selecting the option subset, you can setconditions on the report, such as gender, place of residence, etc.

You can use the mouse or the arrow key to select the menu option youwant. Once you have chosen the option, a drop down menu will appear,offering you a selection of reports available. You can get the report youwant by either (1) clicking on your choice or (2) using the arrow key tomove the highlight to the report and then pressing [Enter].

Reports Sent to the PrinterIf you send the report to a printer, make sure the printer is turned on,loaded with paper, and ready to rock and roll. If you send a report to yourprinter and your printer is off-line, you will receive an error message.

Reports Sent to the ScreenReports that are sent to the Screen may be more than one page long. Youcan use [PgDn] or [PgUp] to move through the report so that you can readit in its entirety. The first [PgDn] or [PgUp] will move the cursor to thebottom or top of the screen, respectively. The second [PgDn] or [PgUp] willactually page through the report.

Reports Sent to File

When sending a report to a file, the file name will default to Report.txt.You can type in a new file name by clicking on the box holding this title andpressing the [Enter] key.

C H A P T E R S I X

The PPS LibrariesThe Personal Planning System helps you maintain a library of assessments,master plan folders, and training programs. Libraries are also maintained forfour training program sub-libraries – Progress Steps, Tasks Analyses,Performance Levels, and Environmental Factors.

The Assessments Library

Assessments are tests that use a standard set of scores. Total test scores canbe compared from year to year to help determine if progress is being made.Sometimes assessments are used as screening devices to help determine if aparticular need exists. The PPS comes with a sample assessment, but itprimarily serves as an example. More can be added, and assessmentsdelivered with the PPS can be removed.

In order to edit an existing assessment press the [Enter] key when theassessment title is highlighted. You may change the name of the assessment.

USER'S GUIDE 36

Press [Enter] on the assessment title and you will be presented with apicklist of performance levels to choose from. Use the arrow keys to moveto the performance level you wish to use and press the [Enter] key. (If theperformance level that you wish to use is not on the list, you must go to theLibraries Menu - Performance Levels and add the new performance levelyou need.) The assessment performance levels will appear in the upper rightcorner of your screen. Next you must answer the question “Is a strength ator above”. In most cases you will enter the number associated with the topstep of the performance level. Now answer the question “Is a need at orbelow”. In most cases enter the number associated with the bottom step ofthe performance level.

The bottom half of the screen contains the assessment items. You may editthese by pressing [Enter]. Type any correction to the element name andpress [Enter].

To delete an assessment simply press the [Del] key. You will be asked toconfirm the deletion.

Master Plan Folders

The Master Plan Folders section usually includes only one Master Plan, usedto create the agency’s Individual Support Plan, but it may contain more. ISPitems are lists of staff assignments necessary to produce the ISP. This is aquick way of assigning an entire group of staff assignments to a consumer.As an assignment is completed, the responsible person makes an entry intotheir To-Do list under the Documentation menu and enters the date ofcompletion. This marks the staff assignment as "completed", and removesit from the person's To-Do list.

By using the Master Plan Folder, the PPS is able to initiate at one time all ofthe staff assignments necessary to produce a consumer's Individual SupportPlan. This is accomplished by customizing your ISP Checklist so that itincludes all the desired Individual Support Plan items, and then makingcorresponding changes in the ISP template file. Changes made to the ISPChecklist may require corresponding changes to be made in the ISPtemplate file.

Master Plan Folders are found under the Library Menu item. After selecting"ISP Items", press the [Ins] button if you wish to add an element to the ISPChecklist. Type in the number given to the new staff assignment associatedwith the ISP process, and then the title of the new element.

Now enter the number of days that will be allowed to lapse before the staffassignment must be completed. Click the Review box, or this element willnot print when the consumer's ISP is mail merged. Answer the question“Should be done” by choosing from the available options. Make sure youfill in the number of months or days. You may now choose a responsible

37 THE PPS LIBRARIES

person for this service if you know who will be responsible. If you do notknow who will be responsible, this may be filled in later when assigning thestaff assignment to a consumer. If this ISP item is a PPS assessment, then apicklist of available assessments will appear. Move the highlight to theassessment you wish to attach and press the [Enter] key.

The instruction statement tells staff what information should be includedwhen the notes section is filled out. The notes box is directly to the right ofthe instructions section. This section is usually left blank, as any notesentered here will be the default note in the consumer's ISP elements. Ingeneral, each checklist element in the ISP Checklist produces its ownparagraph in the consumer's Individual Support Plan.

The Program Library

The Program Library is a collection of objectives and training programs(complete with progress steps) which comes with the Personal Planning System.This library is intended to serve as a model and outline to allow an agency toadd its own unique combination of objective statements, training programsand progress steps.

The Program Library is organized along the following hierarchical structure:

Domain Category Library Item Program

You are allowed up to one million domains, up to one million categories, upto one million item names per category, up to one million programs peritem, and up to 66 progress steps per program. An example of a domainmight be “Communication”. An example of category might be “ExpressiveLanguage”. The item refers to a specific objective, such as “Use ofElectronic Communication Board”. The program name may be the same asthe item name, or it may be different.

USER'S GUIDE 38

Putting current objectives into the active database can be done in severalways. The easiest way is to add objectives for consumers as they have theirannual review, thereby moving all of the active objectives into the databaseover a period of time, which could be as long as a year. It is also possible toput all of an agency's consumer objectives into the computer at once,thereby allowing the transition to computerization to occur for allconsumers simultaneously. The recommended method is to add enoughconsumer objectives, including programs and progress steps, into theProgram Library prior to beginning the use of the PPS to allow you toorganize your objective statements, programs, and learning steps into thebest possible structure prior to assigning objectives to consumers. Then, asconsumers have their interdisciplinary team meeting, or as time allows,modify the Program Library as necessary and assign objectives to consumersdirectly following the interdisciplinary team meetings where these objectivesare selected. When a new objective you wish to assign is already in your PPSProgram Library, it is easy to assign it to the consumer by selecting thecorrect item from the menu. Graphs of progress will begin from the date ofthe first computer-generated progress note, and will not show the pre-computerized data.

When adding programs into the Program Library, there are two importantrules to remember:

The Rule of Male Pronouns

There are several parts of the Program Library where information must bephrased using only male pronouns. When you are entering a condition,objective, criteria statement, program strategy or the long version of eachprogress step in the program, you should not use the words she, her, orhers. The following guidelines should be followed:

Any time you want to use the word him or her, use him. If you want to use the word he or she, use he. If you want to use the word his or hers, use his.

39 THE PPS LIBRARIES

When an objective or training program is printed, the PPS will change thewording of the objectives, strategy statement and steps, and replace all malepronouns with the correct version of that word if the consumer is a female.When you are entering the shorter version of the progress steps, try not touse any sex-specific pronouns (such as he or her), since these items will notbe converted to the correct word.

The Rule of the Range of Steps

All training programs fall into one of two categories. Either you are trying toincrease the frequency of occurrence of a particular behavior (a behaviorincrease program), or you are trying to decrease the frequency of a particularbehavior (a behavior decrease program). If you are measuring only thefrequency of a single behavior, there is no need to type in steps. They areneeded when you are having the person do more and more parts of a taskuntil they reach the desired level of capability.

If you are entering an increase program, your first step should always besomething impossible to fail, and should be step 1. If an individual hasabsolutely no ability or skill in the area you are teaching, the person must beat level 1. This is meant to decrease the possibility that somebody will belabeled a “zero”.

The highest level achievable depends upon the number of progress stepsyou wish to use. You may use up to 66 progress steps. If you are entering adecrease program, the lowest numbered progress step must be step 0. Thisis because the most-used objective statement for behavior decreaseobjectives is decreasing the frequency of the behavior in question to a rateof zero.

Program Library Maintenance Tips

If you have responsibility for maintaining your Agency's PPS ProgramLibrary, then you will spend a fair amount of time working with it. After all,every program that any of your staff begin on any of your consumers willrequire some data entry, and data entry cannot be done until the newobjective record is added. While the rewards are well worth the effort, youmust reconcile yourself that maintaining data in a computer does requiresome effort.

It may not be as hard as you think, however. Try following some of theseorganization tips and see if your library doesn't become just a little easier towork with.

1. If an item in the library has only one program, go ahead and call theprogram the same thing as the item level. If an item has two or moreprograms, name both (or all) the programs to emphasize thedifferences between them.

USER'S GUIDE 40

2. When typing in the Condition line, begin with a capital letter, such as“When told to do so . .”, or “When the shirt is laid in front of him”.

3. When typing in the Objective line, begin with a lower case “will”, suchas “will select the correct picture with 90% independence”.

4. When typing the Criteria line, describe the performance level necessaryto accomplish the objective, such as “for 5 consecutive sessions”.

5. Use MALE PRONOUNS ONLY in the following areas:

The long version of the progress steps The Strategy section of the program The Condition, Objective and Criteria lines

In the short versions of the progress steps do not use any genderpronouns at all.

6. The Data to be Collected field should contain a phrase that isappropriate to the program. “Performance level for each task element”would always be appropriate for a Total Task Model program. “Higheststep achieved” is usually appropriate for non-Total Task Modelprograms.

7. Start the long version of the step with a small letter, and the shortversion with a capital letter.

8. On total task programs, consider existing Performance Levels in yourlibrary before adding new ones.

The Progress Steps Library

Service Objectives do not use progress steps, but training objectives musthave progress steps. Objectives that are intended to teach a new behavior orskill are labeled “increase” objectives. Increase objectives start with a loweststep number of 1. Except for total task programs, step number 1 on anincrease program is something that the client cannot fail to do. Objectivesthat are intended to decrease the rate of a behavior are labeled “decrease”objectives. Decrease objectives always move towards a level of 0, which isusually the desired rate mentioned in the objective. Total Task objectivesteps always represents the percentage of independence at which the clientcan perform the entire task.

Progress Steps provide an orderly progression between a starting point andthe objective statement. The more progress steps you have, the easier it willbe to see progress when it occurs.

41 THE PPS LIBRARIES

From the Libraries Menu, click on “Progress Steps” to open the ProgressSteps Library. You will then see an alphabetized list of all sets of ProgressSteps in your PPS.

Editing Steps:To edit existing steps, move the highlight bar to the step title you want toedit and press [Enter]. You may now change the title of the step if you want.Press the [Enter] key when you are finished. This will move you to theactual steps that you may also edit. Move the highlight bar to the specificstep you want to edit and click or press [Enter]. Type in any changes andpress [Enter]. To insert a step, click on [Insert] or press the [Insert] key. Toremove a step, click on [Delete] when you are on the step you want todelete. Click on [Done] when you are done editing.

Adding Steps:To add a new set of steps, click on [Insert]. Type in the name of the new setof steps and press the [Enter] key. Click [Done] twice to return to the mainmenu.

Deleting Steps:To delete a set of steps, move the highlight bar to the step title you want todelete and click on [Delete]. You will be asked to confirm this deletion.Press [OK] to delete. The step title and attached steps will be removed fromthe steps listing.

USER'S GUIDE 42

Task Analyses Library

A task analysis must be attached to a Total Task program. The task analysisis a listing of the elements of the task, which are to be performed duringevery trial of the program.

Task analyses and performance levels are used only when the Total Taskcategory has been checked. Any program that has been designated as a totaltask program must have both a task analysis and a set of performance levels.

Task Analyses break a task into parts, called task components or taskelements. This allows us to train the entire task while keeping data showinghow much assistance is required for each component of the task

To edit existing task analyses, move the highlight bar to the task analysis titleyou want to edit and press [Enter]. You may now change the title of the taskanalysis if you want. Press [Enter] when you are finished. This will moveyou to the actual task analysis elements, which you may also edit. Click on[Done] when you are done editing.

To insert a task analysis element, click on [Insert] . To remove a task analysiselement, click on [Delete] while the task analysis element you want to deleteis highlighted. You will be asked to confirm this deletion. Press [OK] todelete

Performance Levels Library

Performance levels are another thing, in addition to a task analysis, thatmust be attached to a Total Task program. They represent the “grade” youwill give every component of the Task Analysis.

43 THE PPS LIBRARIES

Like progress steps, they should have an orderly progression. Performancelevel 3 should be closer to the objective criteria than performance level 2,etc. Performance levels differ from progress scales in one important way.They should include a first step that cannot be failed, since you must assigna “grade” to each task analysis element.

To edit existing performance levels, move the highlight bar to theperformance level title you wish to edit and press [Enter] after changingboth the long and short titles. You may now change the title of theperformance level and press the [Enter] key. This will move you to theactual performance levels that you may also edit.

Move the highlight bar to the specific performance level you want to editand press the [Enter] key. Type in any changes and press [Enter] two times.To insert a performance level, click on [Insert], type in the performancelevel and press [Enter]. To remove a performance level, click on [Delete]while the performance level is highlighted. You will be asked to confirm thisdeletion. Click [OK] to delete.

To add a new set of performance levels, click on [Insert]. Type in the nameof the new performance level and press the [Enter] key. Press [Insert] tobegin adding the long and short version of the Performance Level. Press the[Enter] key after each performance level. You must press [Enter] two timeson a blank Performance Level (one long and one short) when finished. Click[Done] to return to the Main Menu.

To delete a performance level, move the highlight bar to the performancelevel title you want to delete and click on [Delete]. You will be asked toconfirm this deletion. Click [OK] to delete. The performance level title andattached elements will be removed.

USER'S GUIDE 44

Environmental Factors Library

Environmental Factors are lists of stimuli that could possibly have anegative or positive effect on maladaptive behaviors. The purpose oftracking environmental factors is to reduce barriers to adaptive behaviors bymodifying the environment. For each instance of maladaptive behavior onewould record the presence or absence of each factor on the list, then use theEnvironmental Factors Analysis Graph to spot possible causal relationships.By limiting the dates included on this graph, one can also document theeffects of environmental changes over time to determine their effectiveness.

After you have entered the Environmental Factors Library, you may changethe title of any set of environmental factors (if you wish) and press the[Enter] key. This will move you to the actual environmental factors that youmay also edit.

If you wish to edit one or more environmental factors, move the highlightbar to the specific environmental factor you want to edit and press the[Enter] key. Type in any changes and press [Enter] two times. To insert anenvironmental factor, click on [Insert], type in the new environmental factorand press [Enter]. To remove an environmental factor, click on [Delete]while the environmental factor is highlighted. You will be asked to confirmthis deletion.

To add a new set of environmental factors, click on [Insert]. Type in thename of the new set of environmental factors and press the [Enter] key.Press [Insert] to begin adding long and short version of the EnvironmentalFactor. You must press [Enter] two times on a blank Environmental Factors(one long and one short) when finished. Click on [Done] to return to theMain Menu.

C H A P T E R S E V E N

UtilitiesAll of the items managed by the PPS’s Utilities Menu are organized intothree categories. These are Tools, Information and Management. The PPSSystem Manager uses many of these utilities, but only a few of these utilitiesare used regularly by all users. Those few things will be discussed here.

Changing Your Password

This option allows the user to change his or her own password. You musttype in your password two times to make this change. Type in your newpassword the first time (at least 3 letters long) and press [Enter]. Now, typein your new password again and press [Enter] again. If the first and secondpassword do not match, you will be given a warning, and the password willnot be changed. The password is a key to the entire PPS system, so guard itcarefully. It is a good idea to change your password several times a year inorder to maintain security.

Changing the Data Directory

This allows you to switch to other PPS data locations. Double-click on thePPS Folder containing the PPS data set you are interested in viewing, thenclick on the folder of the desired PPS data set, then click [Select]. You canuse the standard Windows method of selecting a different subdirectory toselect any other PPS data set on your hard disk drive.

USER'S GUIDE 46

Not only does the PPS allow you to browse and select other active PPS datasets, but you are also provided with a sample PPS data set (called “Learn”)complete with data for training purposes. Each time you change PPS data,you will be logged out of your current PPS and requested to log into thenew PPS. This automatic logging in and out helps maintain security.

The “Learn” directory will offer to let you return the data to its original stateeach time you select it. This allows people to make whatever changes theywish in the “Learn” directory without messing things up for those whofollow. If you are not sure if any changes have been made in the “Learn”directory, allow it to reset itself to its original state on the way in.

Re-Indexing Data Files

Re-indexing automatically re-creates the existing index files. This should bedone if something appears to be wrong with your files. Use this option tofix your PPS any time your computer is accidentally turned off whilesomeone is still in the PPS. You will be asked if you want to “Pack” yourdata files. If you say “Yes”, the process will take longer, but will recoveradditional hard disk space.

Logging In and Logging Out

This option allows users of the PPS to log in or out without leaving the PPSprogram. If you have finished your work and wish to leave the computer forsome other PPS user, select Logout from the Utilities menu. The computerwill then be ready for the next user to login to the PPS.

47 THE PPS LIBRARIES

Whenever you think the next user of the computer might be running thePersonal Planning System, use the Log Out feature from the Utilities Menuinstead of exiting the program entirely. This will allow the next user to log into the PPS much more quickly.

USER'S GUIDE 48

C H A P T E R E I G H T

Common ActivitiesThis is a User’s Guide, and as such it has an obligation to give assistance tosomeone who is trying to use the PPS. What do people who use the PPSdo? Some common PPS activities are:

1. Adding data for an objective2. Generating progress notes for objectives3. Creating review notes4. Adding new training objectives5. Adding new service objectives6. Marking “To-Do” list items as done7. Terminating training objectives8. Producing the Individual Support Plan

For each of these common activities we will describe the sequence ofkeystrokes necessary to accomplish the activity.

1) Adding Data

After opening a folder, select "Documentation", then "ProgressInformation", then one of the consumer's objectives. You will then be ableto add data for that objective.

For Chaining or Behavior Decrease programs, three different ways ofadding data are available to you. The first way is to go to the graph with themouse pointer. At the bottom left of the screen you will see what step anddate the arrow is on. When you find the one you want simply click the leftmouse button. The second way is to click on the day by using the mousepointer on the calendar and clicking on the step by using the mouse pointeron the steps. The order this is done does not matter and you can go backand change these before it is actually entered. The date and step are shownin the lower right side of the screen below the steps. Once you have the dateand step you want, click on the [OK] button located in the bottom righthand corner of the screen. The third way is to select the browse sessionsoption by clicking on the sessions. You can now Insert, Edit and Deletesessions by typing in what you want.

Total Task programs have a special method of data entry. Total Taskprograms will show a table of elements with one column for eachperformance level. The very first time data is entered for that objective, thetable will be empty. Every time after that, the column representing the lastrecorded performance level for that task element will have a gray block in it.

USER'S GUIDE 50

The gray means that this is a default - it is not data you just entered, but isinstead the computer’s guess as to what might be the answer this time. It isthere to save you time. If the answer is already marked in gray you do nothave to click it again. When you click any column, that column turns blackfor the task element on that row. Any other gray or black marks areremoved. Only one performance level can be selected for each task element.Only when there is one mark in each row will you be able to click a date andthe [OK] button. The computer will then figure out the correct step andplot it on the graph for you. When there are more than 17 task elements anup and down arrow button pair will appear near the [OK] button. Aftermaking the first 17 task elements correct, you click on the down arrow andrepeat until the [OK] button label turns black.

The Adding Data Menu Bar offers items including Graph, Progress Notes,Tasks, Objective, Event Log, and Exit. Each of these will be explained.

Graph:

The graph item has several options:

1. Current Period2. Shows Scales Graph (if applicable)3. All Periods4. Daily/Trial5. Total Task or Environmental Factors Analysis Graph (if applicable)

Progress Notes

Selecting Current Period will write a progress note for this objective for thecurrent period. Selecting another date (if one appears) will show the graphand progress note for that period.

Task/NeedsSelect from a list of staff assignments and service objectives you areresponsible for to view.

51 COMMON ACTIVITIES

ObjectiveUse this option when you need to see parts of the objective while writingthe progress note or entering data. Your choices are Criteria statement,Strategy and Steps, Scales, Task Analyses and Performance Levels whereeach exists.

Event LogUse to access the Event Log Option. May view or add to the Event Log.

ExitUse this option to return to the Data Entry area, Main Menu, AnotherConsumer, Another Objective for this consumer, or Next Objective for thisresponsible person.

Each learning session entered creates a data point on the person's graph. Ifyou choose to train the program more often than you record data, you canindicate that a Learning Session entry actually represents more than onelearning session. When the Progress Note reports how many times theconsumer received training on the objective, the number used will be thesum of the number of sessions represented, which is not necessarily thesame as the number of data points on the graph. For example let's say thatwe have scheduled three learning sessions a week on Monday, Wednesday,and Friday, but we are only going to record the information on Friday. Inour sessions window we would enter 3 for number of sessions and recordeverything else on that line for Friday, the day we entered the information.Thus our graph will only reflect one point since, even though we had threesessions, we only recorded the information once.

To select the Sessions Browse window, click your mouse button somewherein the Sessions area on the left of the screen. Like many list boxes in PPS,the option buttons Insert, Delete and Done are on the bottom of the box.The items shown in the box will be the latest ones entered. If there is morethan one boxful of data points, you will be able to page or scroll up to seethe rest. The following push buttons are available in the Sessions window:

Insert Add a Learning Session. Press [Insert]. Enter the session month(default is previous month), day of session, step, scale (ifappropriate), total minutes, total number of sessions, and classsize. To change responsible person use the arrow keys tohighlight the desired person. Press [Enter]. Add additionallearning sessions or [PgDn] when done. When entering sessionsfor Total Task programs, you must choose a Performance Levelfor each element of the Task Analysis. When entering sessionsfor Environmental Factors programs, you must choose aPerformance Level for each environmental factor for eachbehavior instance.

USER'S GUIDE 52

Delete Delete Learning Session. Use the arrow keys to highlight thesession to be deleted and press [Delete]. Answering “Yes”deletes the session. “Cancel” returns without deleting the session.

Done Exit sessions window. Clicking the [Done] button or pressing the[Escape] key will leave the sessions window and take you back tothe Data Entry area. If you then want to leave this objective, clickthe [DONE] button at the bottom right of the screen. Or youcan select [EXIT] from the menu bar.

2) Generating Progress Notes

After you have opened a folder and selected a consumer's objective fromthe Documentation - Progress Information menu, selecting Current Periodwill write a progress note for this objective for the current period. Selectinganother date (if one appears) will show the graph and progress note for thatperiod.

Answer the questions as follows:

1. Progress evaluation for (date of last note) through (defaults to previouslyselected progress intervals - you may change this date if desired).

2. Produce Narrative Note - Choose “N” ONLY if you do not want anarrative progress note.

3. Click [OK] to proceed with the note, or [Cancel] if you do not wish tocontinue.

Choose between “System Generated Note” and a blank note. If you selectthe System Generated Note, the PPS will prepare a default narrative notefor you. You can then change anything about the note that you wish tochange.

Next you may choose one of the options on the screen, which are: “I donot plan on making any changes in this objective at this time”, “I plan to

53 COMMON ACTIVITIES

talk to the QMRP (QMRP's name) about possible changes”, “I plan tochange the objective strategy this period”, “I plan to monitor this objectiveclosely this period”, or a closing sentence of your own which has beenadded to the choices through the Agency Settings area. Move the highlightbar to the closing sentence of your choice and press [Enter]. Alternatively,hit [Escape] for no concluding sentence and no sentence will be added tothe default note. All sentences are modifiable through the Utilities menuAgency Settings. At this point you may edit any portion of the note, or spellcheck the note if desired. Click [OK] when done.

If you have selected a previous period, you are shown the note that waswritten for that period. Five option buttons appear at the bottom of thescreen, but will be selectable only if their first letter is highlighted. [Edit]allows you to change the progress note. [Delete] will delete the note viewedif it is the most current note written.[Reprint] adds the note to the list ofnotes to be printed next time Progress Notes is chosen from the Reportsmenu, and increases the Notes to be Printed count by one. [Spell Check]will allow you to check the spelling of your progress note [OK] returns youto the sessions window. Select Progress Notes. Use the arrow keys tohighlight the desired progress period to allow review of progress note forthe period chosen.

3) Creating Review Notes

Many documentation standards require that a member of the consumer'sinterdisciplinary team perform a regular periodic review of the consumer'soverall performance. This frequently takes the form of a comment abouteach of the high priority objectives, as well as a general summation of theconsumer's well being for the period.

To do a Review click, open a person's folder, select [Documentation] andthen click on [Reviews]. Click [OK] to accept the Period Beginning, etc.. Inthe bottom portion of the screen will be a word processing document thatincludes today’s date, the consumer’s name, consumer number, consumer'sdate of birth, and a listing of objectives, criteria statement, and most recentprogress note.

USER'S GUIDE 54

In the top portion of the screen, you will first be shown the daily graph forthe current period, and a list of choices on the right. These choices include:Next Period (next period for this objective), Previous Period (back one),Daily graph, All Periods Graph, Progress Note, Cut to Clipboard, NextObjective, Done.

4) Adding New Training Objectives

To add a new objective which is already in the Program Library, open theperson's folder. Then select "People". Choose this person's objectives, thenselect "Add a new objective". Assign the new objective a number and press[Enter], select a domain and press [Enter]. This will bring up the objectiveslibrary for program selection. Select Category, Item, and Program pressing[Enter] after each. Click [OK] to execute the copying of the program fromthe library. Use the [Arrow Keys] to move to the library program that youwish to assign to this consumer and press [Enter].

Customize Objective Screen

In order to edit information on this screen, arrow to or use your mouse topoint and click on the information that needs to be edited. There is no needto press [Enter} to get from one section to another. Pressing [Enter] onTotal Task, Steps Increase Means Progress, or Record EnvironmentalFactors reverses what was already entered. Only click on or press [Enter]where changes need to be made. Most often this information shouldremain as the default setting, so you may want to click on Data Collectedafter you have edited the Program Title.

There are six options for determining what data point will be assigned to theAll Periods Graph at the end of each progress period. These six options are:

1. Last data point of progress period2. Average of all data points in progress period3. Average of final data points in progress period

55 COMMON ACTIVITIES

4. Most representative of all data points in progress period5. Most representative of final data points in progress period6. Total frequency of behavior during progress period

You may make any changes you wish in the pre-worded objective, includingCondition, Behavior, and Criteria statements that appear on the screen. Youwill be asked to input the criteria statement for this objective. The criteriastatement takes the form: meets criteria when at top step for _____ of thelast _____ (sessions or progress periods). If you want your criteria statementto be a certain number of consecutive sessions or months, then you wouldenter that number in both blanks. The Strategy section should containinformation on how the program is to be trained.

Progress Steps Screen

Now you will be presented with the default progress steps for the program,or Task Analysis and Performance Levels if it is a Total Task program. Toaccept the default click [OK]. To make modifications, press [Enter] whilethe step title you wish to modify is highlighted. Remove the step by clickingon [Delete].

Under Progress Steps, you can change the set of steps that were assigned, oredit the steps. When all changes have been made, click on [OK] located inthe lower right hand corner to accept steps, and move to the next screen.When all changes have been made to steps, click on OK located in thelower right hand corner to accept the changes. Under Steps, you can changethe set of steps that were assigned, or edit the steps, and move to the nextscreen.

Implementation Screen

While you can accept defaults for all previous screens, the ImplementationScreen requires that some information must be entered. You mustdetermine at what interval you want to evaluate progress for the objective.Enter a number and choose either months or days, but not both.

USER'S GUIDE 56

You will be asked to choose whether the objective is a priority objective tobe trained now or a non-priority objective to be held in reserve andactivated and trained at a later time. Next you must answer the “UseBaseline” question. If you click baseline, baseline data will be used to helpdetermine the first month's progress note. If you click baseline, you mustenter the base step at which the program was started. If you put a check boxin "Select a Target Step", you will need to enter the progress step orpercentage of independence you are striving for. You must now choose aresponsible person for the objective. Select the responsible person from thelist. Typing the first few letters of the last name will move down to the firstmatch. Arrow keys also move the selection. Once the correct name ishighlighted, press [Enter]. If you wish to assign this objective to a disciplineyou may do so the same way you assigned a responsible person. If thisobjective is Observation Only, place a check mark in the "ObservationOnly" box.

Training Schedule Screen

After completing the implementation screen, you will be presented with theconsumer's schedule. Click [Insert] to schedule the newly establishedobjective. Fill in the time of day, the duration in hours and minutes, and thelocation where the program will be trained. Next enter how many times todo and record the objective with the tab and/or mouse. Press [Enter] onObjective number and the purpose (contains objective name) to make anychanges. Press [Enter] for a list to choose the responsible person. You maychange the responsible person by selecting a new person from the list. Usethe up or down Arrow keys to highlight the appropriate person and press[Enter].

57 COMMON ACTIVITIES

The menu bar offers the opportunity to [Insert], [Delete], or click [Done] toend this session and return you to the Consumer Objective Listing.

5) Adding New Service Objectives

To add a new service objective, first open the folder of the consumer forwhom you wish to add the service objective. Then, from the "People"menu, select "Service Objectives". To add a new service objective, click on"Insert".

You will need to enter a Service Objective number, such as "S-05". Youmust also give this service objective a short name, such as "Shopping forClothes". The Start Date and Target Date must be entered, and you mustalso select from "one time only", or one of the options that leads to arecurring service objective.

You can assign this service objective to a discipline if you choose, and theInstructions section is also optional. The Notes section is reserved for thenotes that often accompany completion of the service objective.

If the Service is an assessment, the assessment questions will be presented.Click on the appropriate performance level for each assessment item. Click[OK] when done. A default note will appear in the notes block. This notewill list the current assessment's notes. If this is the second assessment, PPSwill compare the current with the latest assessment. The note will containitems that have improved, items that have regressed, some strengths (lastthree), and notable needs (first three). You may also add any informationneeded into the notes section.

6) Marking Service Objectives as “Done”

The fastest way to mark service objectives as "done" is through your PPS"To-Do" list. You will find this located on the "Documentation" menu.

USER'S GUIDE 58

Move to the service or support which has been completed, and which youwish to mark as "done". Click your mouse, and you will be moved directlyto the Notes section of the screen. Entering a note here is optional, but youmay say anything you wish. When the note is done, use the [Tab] key tomove to “Completed”, add the date the action was completed and press[Enter]. That Staff Assignment will disappear from the screen. Click [Done]to return to the Main Menu.

7) Terminating Training Objectives

To delete an existing objective, after selecting the consumer and objective,move the highlight bar to the desired objective and press the [Del] key. Youwill be prompted to confirm this delete. Click [YES] to continue. You mustenter the date of termination and a reason for terminating each objective.The available reasons for termination are “Target Date Reached”, “CriteriaMet”, “Insufficient Progress”, “Personal Choice”, and “Objective not used -Do not archive”. Use the Arrow Keys to select a reason, then press [Enter].Deleting an objective will also remove any sessions and progress notes thathave been submitted for the objective, but not yet printed.

8) Producing the Individual Support Plan

By merging all of the notes sections of each staff assignment associated witha client’s Individual Support Plan, the PPS can prepare a completeIndividual Support Plan (ISP) for that person. You can then view the reporton the screen or send it to the printer.

To produce the ISP (or whatever you call it), start by opening the folder ofthe person you want, then click on Reports in the Main Menu. Then clickon Planning, then Individualized Support Plan. A box titled “Select PlanFolder” will pop up. Click on the preferred folder date, and click on [Select].

59 COMMON ACTIVITIES

A new box will appear stating that “A Plan has already been generated fromthis plan folder “. Click on “Open Existing Plan”.

You will have a short wait while your computer loads your word processingprogram and then loads the ISP. When it is done, you can view the ISP onthe screen or send the report to the printer (do this by either clicking on the“Print” icon in the banner at the top of the screen or by clicking [File] andthen [Print]). When you are done, close the file by clicking [File], and then[Exit]. You will then return to the Main Menu of PPS

USER'S GUIDE 60

C H A P T E R N I N E

Troubleshooting

Recognizing Trouble when you see it

It is important to recognize trouble when you see it because trouble grows!The sooner you can spot trouble, the easier it will be to contain it before itgets to be a whole lot of trouble.

Fortunately, there are only two kinds of trouble. Let's discuss eachseparately.

Your computer locks up

The mouse cursor on the computer screen won't move when you move themouse, or if it does move, nothing responds to it. The keyboard seems to beissuing no commands to the computer, or else every keystroke makes thecomputer beep. Yep. You've got computer lock up. Here are the steps youshould follow.

1) Make sure it is really locked up. Did you just tell the computer to dosomething, and you think it should be done by now but it isn't? Maybeyour computer isn't locked up after all. Wait at least a couple of minutesto make sure.

2) You aren't running another Windows 95 program in the background areyou? If so, close that program and see if that seems to help the PPScome to life.

3) Make a note of what you were doing when the computer lock upseemed to occur. Be as specific as you can be. It will never be easier toremember that you were doing than it is right now.

4) Press Ctrl + Alt + Del all at the same time (use both hands). This willbring up the End Task dialogue box. It will have a list of all programsthat are currently running. Choose Personal Planning System, and clickon "End Task" with the mouse. This will close PPS incorrectly, but it isthe safest way to fix this problem.

5) Now click on "Start" and "Shut Down", and shut off your computer.After letting it rest for a second or two (they don't need much rest), thenturn your computer back on. Enter the PPS, go to "Utilities" and select

USER'S GUIDE 62

"Reindex". Reindexing should be done every time the PPS is exited"incorrectly".

If your computer locks up frequently, there is probably a problem with yourhardware. If you have somebody who helps you with computer hardwareproblems, let them know about your computer freezes.

Something else goes wrong

If your computer didn't lock up, then something else must have gonewrong. Usually this means that you see some sort of error statement on yourcomputer screen, but sometimes it means that things on the computerscreen "just don't look right". What you need to do is to explain theproblem to somebody else. If you don't have a PPS System Manager at youragency to explain the problem to, then you will need to call the PPSTechnical Support Help line at (828) 438-9455.

Whoever you call will want to know exactly what happened. If you are ableto make a screen print of an error message things might get solved faster. Ifnot, be sure to write down any error messages that appear on the screen.

The first time you go back into the PPS after a problem, choose "Utilities"and "Reindex". This will recreate all data index files, and can fix manyproblems (and never hurts).

Getting out of the PPS correctly

It is extremely important to exit PPS correctly. Otherwise, tables and indexfiles could be corrupted and result in a loss of data. If you find that the PPShas been exited incorrectly through human error or mechanical failure (suchas a power outage), and you begin to see error messages, call your PPSSystem Manager for help.

To exit the PPS correctly, make sure you click on either [Cancel], [Done], or[Exit] in each window until you arrive at the Main Menu. When you arrive atthe Main Menu, click [Exit] to Windows.

The most common cause of data corruption problems with computersoftware such as the Personal Planning System is the user not getting out ofthe software program correctly. Sometimes the user just turns the computeroff when they are finished with their work, not realizing that all softwareshould be "closed down" before a computer is turned off. Sometimes aMack truck runs into the electric company pole on the corner of your block,and all the lights go out, not just your computer screen.

63 TROUBLESHOOTING

Whatever caused you to exit the PPS incorrectly, there is something youshould do right away (after electricity is restored). Go back into the PPS,choose "Utilities" and "Reindex". This will recreate all data index files, andwill fix many problems that can be caused by exiting incorrectly.

Types of Help Available

When using the Personal Planning System, help is available to you at all times.To get help with whatever part of the program you are currently using,simply press the [F1] key. If the information given does not provide the helpyou need, you can call up a list of additional help topics by pressing the [F2]key. Use the arrow keys to select a topic for further help, then press [Enter].At any point, pressing [Esc] will return you to the PPS.

If neither the PPS manual nor the on-line help available by pressing [F1] isable to provide you with the answers you need, you should call the technicalsupport staff at Habilitation Software, Inc. at (828) 438-9455 (voice) 9:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, or fax information at anytime to (828) 438-9488 (FAX).

Things to try when you are in Trouble

Reindexing

Re-indexing automatically re-creates the existing index files. This should bedone if something appears to be wrong with your files. Use this option tofix your PPS any time your computer is accidentally turned off whilesomeone is still in the PPS. You will be asked if you want to “Pack” yourdata files. If you say “Yes”, the process will take longer, but will recoveradditional hard disk space. If you have a network and somebody else is inthe PPS, you will not be able to reindex.

Check Data Integrity

This option will run an integrity check of all PPS databases that are locatedin the current data directory. If there is a problem with one of your datafiles, this check should find it.

Why is this necessary? At times different events can cause a loss of dataintegrity (e.g. lightning storms, power failures, excessive static electricity). Byclosely monitoring data integrity you can decrease the probability ofexcessive data loss. The PPS will automatically perform a data integritycheck of all its databases once a day at startup. This option, however, allowsyou to perform data integrity checks anytime. This is recommended

USER'S GUIDE 64

especially before doing any major data entry, before backing up your PPS, orbefore updating to a newer version of the PPS.

To do an integrity check, choose this option from the Utilities menu. A dataintegrity check will be performed on all PPS databases in the current datadirectory. If you have multiple data directories, you need to change to thedata directory you want to check before doing the integrity check. Integritycheck requires that no other users be in the same data directory at that time.

As the data integrity check proceeds, a message window at the top right ofthe screen will show you what table is being currently examined. If an erroris detected, a dialog box will pop-up telling you what error was found, thetable it was found in, and possible solutions to repairing the damaged file.The PPS will NOT fix damaged tables. It only detects them and alerts theuser. In most cases you will need to use a different program specificallydesigned to repair damaged data files. If your local computer expert doesnot have such a program, encourage her or him to call us at HabilitationSoftware for suggestions. Our expert support staff will be glad to help you.

Index

A

Accidents, 1, 19, 23Assessment, 52Assessments Library, 2, 31

B

Baseline, 51

C

Categories, 34, 35Chart, 1, 8, 9, 10Check Data Integrity, 57Checklist, 32, 33Criteria, 35, 36, 39Criteria statement, 50Customize Objective, 2, 14, 49

D

Data Directory, 2, 41Data Entry, 1, 18, 19, 46, 47Documentation menu, 32Domains, 34DSM-IV, 16

E

Environmental Factors, 40, 46Environmental Factors Analysis, 40, 45Environmental Factors Library, 2, 40Event Log, 1, 19, 20, 21, 23, 45, 46

H

Habilitation Plan, 6

I

Individual Support Plan, 2, 1, 10, 11, 13, 27, 32,33, 44, 54

K

Key Information, 8, 10, 16, 26

L

Library Maintenance, 35

Logging In, 42

M

Male Pronouns, 34Master Plan Folders, 2, 28, 32My To-Do List, 1, 17

N

Notepad, 46

O

ObjectivesAssigning, 14

Objectives Library, 49

P

Password, 2, 41People, 8Performance Level, 36Performance Levels Library, 2, 38Personal Goals, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 28Person-Centered Planning, 1Priority, 19, 48, 51Program Library, 2, 24, 33, 34, 35Progress Notes, 1, 2, 18, 23, 25, 45, 47, 48Progress Steps, 50Progress Steps Library, 2, 36, 37

Q

QMRP, 48

R

Re-Indexing Data Files, 2, 42Reports, 1, 2, 18, 22, 29, 48, 54Review Notes, 2, 48Reviews, 1, 18, 19, 48

USER'S GUIDE 66

S

Scales, 50Modifying, 50

Security, 4service objective, 6Service Objectives

Adding, 14Deleting, 15

Services and Actions, 32Staff Actions, 32Supports, 1, 7, 10, 15System Generated Note, 47System Manager

Duties, 3

T

Taks AnalysisInserting, 38

Task Analyses Library, 2, 38task analysis, 38Task Analysis

Deleting, 38editing, 38

Technical Support, 57Total Task, 36, 38, 44, 46Training Objectives, 1, 2, 10, 12, 14, 49, 53Training Schedule, 51Troubleshooting, 55

U

Utilities, 48Utilities Menu, 41

V

Vision for the Future, 1, 5, 10, 11