Purpose of the Life Stage Trajectory Form:   Everyone wants a good life, and defines their good life in their own way.  This tool can be used to help individuals and families think about what a good life means to them, and also identify what they know they don’t want. The space around the arrows can be used to think about current or needed life experiences that help point the trajectory arrow in the direction of the good life vision.

Creating a Vision of the Future is not Always Easy!   The resources below can be used to help the individual and their family to envision a desired future.  It is important to take the time to carefully explore what is important to the person and his or her loved ones; to take the time to discover alternate futures and to consider what future vision will work best for current circumstances.

	Asking the Right Questions:  This booklet helps individuals and families know what questions to ask and things to think about throughout the life course.  Asking the right questions help families make sure that their loved one has the experiences that help lead to the good life that they envision.  Most of the questions and life experiences in this booklet could apply to anyone, whether they have a disability or not!
	Prioritizing what is MOST IMPORTANT:  Forming a vision and beginning to plan for the future in each of the life domains helps plot a trajectory for a full, inclusive, quality life in the community.  This tool is to help individuals of all ages and/or their families– from the very young child, an adult or somewhere in between – start to think about a more specific vision for life as an adult.  This tool also helps individuals and families narrow down what life domain(s) they are focusing on by rating what is most important to them at this point in time.
	Exploring Life Possibilities:  There are many options for living, working, and playing in the community.  What might have been new and exciting 30 years ago, may not work for today’s vision of a quality life in the community.  This tool is to help individuals and families explore variety of kinds of options for where they might live or do during the day to earn money or have fun.  Some may be more traditional or historic and no longer preferred by many, some that are known and tried but not necessarily the norm, and others that are new or unfamiliar to individuals, families and professionals.

The Shift-It-Coach website provides a nice step-by-step process for helping individuals and families do their own planning and vision work.*Inclusion of this website is not an endorsement for Shift-It-Coach.   http://www.shift-it-coach.com/-=UPLOADS=-/magnetism-map.pdf