The role played by care managers in person centred planning shifts as the process matures and it is important that they know when to take the lead and when to step back and let the individual take control of his or her life. Here, Simon Duffy and Helen Sanderson describe the Five Gear Model - a useful tool in helping the care manager decide how much intervention is necessary

The Valuing People White Paper (Department of Health 2001) stressed the importance of person centred planning (PCP) in helping people with learning disabilities to take charge of their own lives. The guidance (DoH 2002) emphasised that PCP is not a professional activity done to people, but is rather about the people themselves, their friends and families or other allies taking the lead. However, professional services still have an enormous role to play in responding in a more person centred way to people with learning disabilities. Critically this means: