It's All Gravy Now

The Life Plan Summary of an Individual Habilitation Plan identifies personal dreams. It is an outline of aspirations. Every meeting I coordinate on a client relates to their Life Plan Summary. The question is entirely too abstract for most of the mentally retarded population to cognitively tackle but the topic of conversation remains. My job is to facilitate clients achieving their Life Plan Summary or in some fashion working towards their goal(s). I help fill largely empty buckets.

In my career, I have received all kinds of unrealistic answers from “I want to marry Pamela Anderson.” to “I want to catch a great white shark with my bare hands.” I have had a client deathly scared of heights wanting to become an astronaut, a woman with hepatitis begging to flip hamburgers at McDonalds, and a blind person longing to walk to work. I have become largely desensitized to the unrealistic answers I get for this important question and the appropriate answers no longer come gift-wrapped with any element of surprise.

Arlo would change that. In 2003, I had the privilege of sitting at the kitchen table with Arlo, a new client on my caseload. I asked Arlo to state his goals and aspirations. He gave me a pensive stare. I re-phrased the question in concrete terms he might better understand. Only mildly retarded, Arlo didn’t need me to ask him the same question twice. One could argue that he didn’t need me as his social worker either because he was doing a pretty good job with his own life. Arlo sat forward in his chair, leaned against the table, and folded his hands not unlike prayer. His speech labored through an overbite but his life force emanated from within.

“Joe, that’s a tough question because I am living my life plan.”

“You are? In what way?” I asked in earnest.

“All of my life I have dreamed of working in my hometown for the Department of Public Works. Since I was a boy, I wanted to grow-up to become a fireman, and I always wanted to visit Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home.” Arlo paused. “You see, I have worked for Public Works since 1988 and I have been a volunteer fireman for nearly as long. I have already been to Graceland to ‘see the man’ so anything you do for me is gravy.”

His words rang true with the weight of a proclamation. My pen came to a screeching halt. I got up from my seat and offered him a congratulatory handshake.

I recently used a voucher stipend cash subsidy to send him back to his beloved Graceland. When it comes to accomplished realized goals, the best a social worker can do is refill the same trusty bucket.