Watch this video for tips on preparing for your SIS interview

Transcript of video:

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well well that's been interviews our

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stuff that I was talking about what my

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dreams and my goals were and I um

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accomplished one that is moving out in

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community into a whole new world it's

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been a great experience for one reason

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it's because the person that we do serve

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they have the opportunity to be involved

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in their own life and I think that's

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also thing I think the truth when you

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ask open-ended questions say what what

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are your goals and dreams rather than

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what can you do I think it opens up the

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individual to really be able to talk

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about things that they previously

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thought they could never talk about I

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mean it's I've just seen some amazing

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amazing results they become independent

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they become self-sufficient you know

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they're able to actually do things that

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they didn't realize that they could and

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they can just build on that and it just

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you know it's avalanches and I really

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like it and I like to be free hi my name

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is Natalie illy and I'm here to help you

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learn more about the supports intensity

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scale and prepare you for the interview

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the supports intensity scale often times

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referred to as the SIS is designed to

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help learn more about the supports you

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need to be successful in a number of

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environments in our community the focus

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is different than other assessments it

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does not focus on deficits or in

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abilities and it's completed by a number

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of team members or support people in

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your life that will help you to be

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successful so one of the things about

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this assessment is they call it a semi

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structured assessment and what that

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means is we just are really going to

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have a conversation and what my job is

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is to get enough information from you to

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know what rating is the right rating to

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use Tracy do them pass or fail you don't

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fail

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you cannot possibly fail no pass or fail

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this is this is all talking about really

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it's all about you being successful so

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it's really all about passing its so

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it's all figuring out what it would take

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what kind of supports it would take for

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you to be successful the SIS is based

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around success at accomplishing everyday

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activities and future goals and the

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supports needed to achieve them my god

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is do my budget and go to the library

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once a month and my ed ago was learn how

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to cook and stuff I need to work on

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money and that's by huge sweet link

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that's pretty much a bit of future

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planning where you look at the person

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talk to the person see how their goals

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have changed and then going to the

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meeting and see what supports would be

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needed from your experience for that

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person to be successful in their goals

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human nature is such that the more a

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person feels like that they contribute

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the more that a person feels like that

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they're a valued part of society or a

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valued part of the event directly

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relates to that person's self-esteem how

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they view themselves we feel significant

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when we contribute and whether you have

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a developmental disability or not that's

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basic human nature that that encourages

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independence that encourages a feeling

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of self-worth so when the SIS isolates

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the the minimal supports that somebody

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needs to be involved in an activity and

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yet allows that person to contribute as

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much as they're able to and and at the

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end of the day be successful at it

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there's a tremendous amount of

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empowering that comes with that

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when you're getting ready for the

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interview it's important to set aside at

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least a couple of hours it's also

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important that you discuss with your

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team members or oftentimes

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correspondents what you're gonna be

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talking about a respondent is a

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caregiver a family member

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Guardian advocate even a case manager

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good friends also that know you will

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make great respondents it's helpful to

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have the supports intensity scale form

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prior to the interview so you'll have a

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chance to look over the form and be

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prepared to answer the questions make

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sure you bring any assistive technology

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or aids with you to the interview

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everybody in the meeting should also be

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open-minded oftentimes there's items

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that aren't relevant to your life right

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now but it's important that all the

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items be answered preparing for an

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interview if you're a respondent is is

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is really minimal effort but it's really

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time well-spent

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preparing to to think about the

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individual and being open to think about

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the individual in ways that you've never

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thought about the person before perhaps

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they're currently not employed but what

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would that look like perhaps they're

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currently not in a learning environment

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but what would that look like if they if

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they were and so it's really the the job

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and the task of that respondent to

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really come to that meeting with an open

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mind willing to think in terms that are

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outside of the box for this person

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every item your interviewer asks will

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involve three ratings type of support

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frequency and daily support time type of

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support includes what kind of support

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you need frequency is how often you need

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the support and daily support time is

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how much support you need in a 24 hour

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period really here you're looking at the

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nature of support is it minimal is it

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any at all

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is it verbal gestural prompting is that

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partial physical assistance where some

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of the steps are having to be done for

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the person or is it full

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then you capture how frequently that

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support would be needed if they were

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going to be engaged in that particular

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activity over the next several months

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and then finally your gauging okay when

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the support happens how long is it

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taking in a typical 24 hour period if

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you were to add it all together so that

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with these three components type of

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support frequency daily support time you

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get this same type of walkthrough of

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this rating key for every item that

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really fills in the gap of what would be

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needed to move an individual from where

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they currently may be to doing an

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activity and participating in being

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involved like anybody else a relative

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age typical adult in the community which

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is really what we want to hone in as the

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definition of support the supports

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intensity scale also has personal items

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these items can be very sensitive for

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individuals so it's important that you

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have people around you that supports you

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but also know that it's okay to ask

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those folks to leave if you'd rather

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answer those questions on your own your

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interviewer will help you through those

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items and some examples include using

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the restroom hygiene intimate

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relationships and even support with

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inappropriate behaviors helping the

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individual be a part of the meeting to

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the fullest of their ability is is real

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important and sometimes that requires a

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little bit of pre-work if the individual

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has problems hearing or they need a

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communication device or the environment

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needs to be set up in a certain way it

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requires a little bit of

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pre-work in order to make that interview

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go well and to be as beneficial as it

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possibly can for the person whatever

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those things are it's it's time

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well-spent it's valuable to to consider

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those things prior to having the meeting

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because the meeting needs to be a place

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where everybody can talk and everybody

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can participate in a place that's

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comfortable and everybody feels safe

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communicating remember to have a great

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interview set aside enough time have

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people around you that supports you and

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know you well and stay open-minded and

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listen be a good listener so what the

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individual is thinking and to learn more

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about the person even though it may be a

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family member there are a lot of times

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they have not had the opportunity they

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had to have their voice heard so one of

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the things that we've been able to do is

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tailor people's wishes desires and goals

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that have largely been formulated at the

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SIS and the person-centered planning it

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really does help when you're going

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through this and you see that there's

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things that my sister could do that I

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really didn't think she could do I was

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doing a lot of it for and then finding

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if if they could provide a ride here or

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somebody to monitor her in her apartment

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then I didn't have to worry about it and

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it took her to another level of being

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independent I would say I see my sister

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is having her own interests making some

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of her own choices and she's happy with

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making her own choices from time to time

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given her opportunities to do various

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things in the community I see her

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functioning as any other adult I like to

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learn more second learning and work and

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stuff and read a letter when somebody

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write me and all that stuff I want to do

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that there look just at the person's

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desires goals their heart really their

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hearts cry rather than at any ability or

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disability level

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I feel happy I've feel great

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and accomplished everything done in a

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past or present or in the future I feel

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sometimes monstro sometimes up a doubt

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ball coaster but sometimes I can be

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really happy