Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Southwest Ohio, Inc.
Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Southwest Ohio, Inc.
Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Southwest Ohio, Inc.
"Planning and providing lifelong assistance for people with disabilities."

PLAN Services

PLAN offers long term planning and coordination of services that enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities over their lifetimes. The Long Term Plan of Care outlines the services to be provided, how often they should occur, and when they should start. Services are customized to fit individual and family needs, and the Long Term Plan of Care builds in support to compensate for diminishing family involvement over time.

PLAN can provide services that families normally conduct for loved ones with disabilities. We can assume such services as part of a long term plan of care to provide consistency and quality over a person's lifetime.

PLAN Provides 3 Key Services:


I. Planning

PLAN helps families and individuals create a blueprint of care for the future. We provide a vehicle for planning, and assistance with planning such that individual needs, family preferences, public service provision, and current state entitlement laws are considered in the larger vision of care for the future. We offer a comprehensive planning document that can help families and individuals detail what's important to them now, and what may be important in the future, and we lend the professional assistance necessary to strengthen the plan as well.

II. Lifelong Assistance

Once a care plan is developed, PLAN commits to coordinating the plan for the future. Essentially, PLAN becomes a surrogate family member for a person with a disability, a surrogate who has an established relationship with that person, a comprehensive vision of his/her ideas about the future, and detailed knowledge of his/her current issues. We see that the plan is implemented as written, changed as needed, and updated regularly. As family surrogates, we interact with an individual now to establish solid rapport and assist with current difficulties, and build a trusting relationship over time to ensure carefully planned care is delivered in the future.

III. Resource Coordination

PLAN works with and refers to a network of community providers in addition to providing services directly. We offer basic information regarding legal and financial planning for people with disabilities, and consultation with those specifically involved in a family's estate planning. We also refers to attorneys and financial planners who work in elder law, particularly with special needs and discretionary trusts that can be used to enhance the quality of a person's life while preserving eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits.

PLAN Programs

Recreation Program

When you have a disability, it's hard to engage in the social/recreational mainstream. The lack of transportation, money, and friends can make getting out hardship for people with disabilities. With all the public and private services and supports in place for people with disabilities today, meaningful recreation is still difficult for many with disabilities.

PLAN's Recreation Program is a way for our participants to access and become part of the community, to have fun, and to make friends. The Recreation Program ensures that normalizing life experiences like seeing movies, going out to eat, seeing a baseball game, or visiting a metro park are part of life for PLAN participants.

The Recreation Program allows our participants to make friends, to look forward to scheduled outings, to engage in normalized activities, to practice social skills, and above all, to have fun. Participants choose from a wide variety of events scheduled monthly and call to make a reservation for outings including arts and crafts projects, art museum outings, sports events, music offerings, plays, hikes, dinners, bowling, and festivals.

Download Event Calendar

As one of our participants recently noted, the "best thing about PLAN is getting together and going out in groups"! We agree - the Recreation Program has been a great way to enhance the quality of life of many of our participants who join in and have fun!

Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET)

Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET) is an evidence based practice that helps people with schizophrenia and related mental illnesses improve their processing speed, cognition and social cognition. CET addresses the symptoms of mental illness that cause significant functioning impairments, particularly with work, education and social life. Based on research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, CET addresses problems in neuro-cognition (thinking problems) and social cognition (the ability to act wisely in social situations).

CET arose from evidence that a neurodevelopmental impairment underlies schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses that causes problems with memory, attention, problems solving and focus. Evidence also indicates that such impairments may account for problems in social relating (social cognition) as well. Functionally, people with social cognitive impairments have difficulty with changes in social contexts and reading informal social rules. For example, summing up a situation to get the gist of what behavior is appropriate, taking the perspective of others and adjusting one's behavior accordingly, and giving a clear account of one's behavior are some of the problems those with social cognitive impairments can have.

CET attempts to jump start the brain and re-engage individuals in the process of developing neurocognitive and social cognitive function, which can improve the negative symptoms of severe mental illness such as reduced emotional expression, social withdrawal, lack of energy, spontaneity or initiative. CET is a 15 month long program, offered in a weekly group which includes computer exercises to improve attention, memory and problem solving skills, along with a psychotherapy group that shares strategies on topics such as cognitive flexibility, perspective taking, medications, and adjustment to disability.

Current research suggests that CET can be a powerful adjunct to medication and psychotherapy that can promote further recovery from severe mental illness. PLAN of Northeast Ohio in Cleveland (the program we replicate here) has had amazing results in terms of graduates becoming more involved in work, volunteer activities, social interaction, independent living, and flexible thinking.

PLAN of Southwest Ohio's CET program has had amazing results too. We recently received the following email from the mother of one of our Group II participants, a man diagnosed with schizophrenia who has participated in CET for four months. The statement is an example of and testament to the power of CET training:

"I thought you would like to know that I have noticed a big improvement in Bob's reading habits. He was browsing libraries and bookstores and bringing books home and then leaving them laying around unread or reading only a few pages.

One evening I was working on my laptop computer in the living room and noticed that Bob picked up a book and started reading it. I noticed that he kept at it and when I put my computer away he told me that he had just read a chapter! He seemed as surprised as I was. Since that time, he has completed reading three books and is working on a fourth. I asked him if he feels that he is able to concentrate better when reading and he said that his concentration has improved. This is a huge change in his behavior and I am thinking that the CET classes have helped him in this regard. He still has a lot of problems, but I think he feels good about being able to focus on what he is reading"

Comments from CET Group I and II Members

  • My quality of life has gone up. I feel better, I'm more social, and I'm clearer than what I was before.

  • Before CET I was extremely paranoid at work, had no friends, could not socialize for fear of people wanting to get one up on me. I felt emotionally and cognitively raped. After CET I started connecting with people and enjoying talking with others. I understand and can focus on their conversations. I'm in touch with my feelings and I'm taking care of myself.

  • I'm happier all around since CET. I interact much more with the people in my neighborhood and community. I smile more and I have a garden that I love working in. Before CET, I didn't go out much, had no place to express myself. Was depressed. When I tried to get involved or make friends, it very often failed

  • Crises have decreased because of CET, decreased fear of being alone or thrown to the dogs. CET has shown me how to get by and use work skills. Before CET my brain wasn't even like it is after. I feel like what was dead now is coming to life. CET has helped my attention in the group home

  • CET has helped me understand how my disorder affects me and particularly the brain and my disorder . With this understanding, I have been able to better handle my bipolar disease and no longer experience psychosis on a day to day basis. I definitely think CET has helped me return to work (as a telemarketer for Cincinnati Symphony). My quality of life has definitely improved with the help of the psychoeducational lectures and group interaction at CET. I feel more in control of my thoughts and my feelings have improved with this consequent improvement of dealing with intrusive thoughts. I no longer feel like my intrusive thoughts control and influence my words and actions. I had these problems even on meds for years before CET, but now I no longer experience them

  • I feel my social skills have improved through CET there my self confidence is better than before I participated in the group. I do seem more "with it" in my apartment

  • I have better memory recall and better concentration since CET.

  • My quality of life has improved. My clarity of thinking has improved. My socialization is much better - much better with paranoia and social interaction. I am now in working part time since I began CET (have not worked in 7 years).

  • Before CET I'd sit in my apartment, unable to interact socially and industrially. I isolated myself and felt alienated from the rest of the community. I was not willing (afraid) to participate in any activities. After CET, I'm willing and not afraid to participate in some community events constructively and I interact socially.

  • Quality of life has improved. Can read more easily. Before CET, I had difficulty concentrating on reading. This has improved after attending CET. My listening ability has improved as well.

  • CET engaged me with people who care plus with participants who I connect with. Before, I was hopeless. After CET = more hopeful. I will be volunteering in the near future - CET a partial reason.

PLAN of Southwest Ohio's CET Program

  • Group IV will begin in the fall of 2009 - we are currently recruiting for this group. The program lasts approximately 60 weeks in duration. Participants attend one weekly session lasting 3 hours (on Wednesday evenings from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM) at IKRON (2347 Vine St.) Dinner is provided at no cost to participants during the group sessions.

  • Weekly sessions include computer exercises, psycho-educational lectures, and group exercises.

  • Each group member also meets weekly with an individual CET coach who helps with assigned homework and reinforces concepts learned in group. Homework questions further challenge participants to exercise their brains and to personalize topics to their individual circumstances.

  • Follow along with CET graduates will be provided by PLAN to ensure that neurocognitive and social cognitive gains are maintained.

  • Participants need to have current Medicaid eligibility (or private pay for services). We can work to submit spend down information to the Jobs and Family Services office for those with a spend down.

  • Ideal participants will be those with schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, or bipolar disorder who are relatively stable, medication compliant, and can independently transport themselves to weekly sessions. Participants with other severe mental illnesses or co-occurring disabilities are welcome to join the group as well, though we encourage them to discuss their situation in depth with CET staff.