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All About GROW: The Arc Minnesota Coaching Series

The GROW model is a simple coaching method used to help people make informed decisions. This common method of coaching and action planning has many variations, and The Arc Minnesota has adopted its own version of the framework.

What GROW Means

At The Arc, GROW stands for:

G: Goal

What you want to happen

R: Reality

Your current situation

O: Options

Things you can do to meet your goal

W: Way Forward

What you are going to do

How The Arc Uses GROW

When you call the Help Desk or fill out an Ask An Advocate form, our staff will go through the GROW process with you and send you a completed GROW worksheet if you would like one. Through our GROW coaching, we can help you:

  • Figure out what your overall goal is, both in the short and/or long term
  • Discuss what you have already tried
  • Provide resources and discuss the pros and cons of resources we give you
  • Summarize what you can do moving forward

An Example of GROW

A common call we receive is about supporting a child when they become an adult. Here is how that process may look:

The person calls us and says their child is turning 18. They have heard about guardianship but aren’t sure what it is, or what other options they have to help their child make decisions. We go through the GROW process with them:

G: We help them figure out their goal: to help their child make decisions after turning 18.

R: We discuss their current situation: their child needs help with medical and financial decisions.

O: We discuss many options for helping with supported decision-making and the pros and cons of each. We explain what guardianship is. We also talk about Health Care Directives, Power of Attorney, Joint Bank Accounts, and Releases of information.

W: We find a way forward: the person decides that a power of attorney and joint bank account will meet their needs. They picked these options because of the amount of support they can provide without restricting their child too much and because these options don’t require going to court like guardianship. They are going to try these options first, then explore other options if they don’t work out. We send them our Arc Guide to Decision Making which has information on both of these options to get them started.

How GROW Can Help

Here is how GROW helps:

  • It can be frustrating to always repeat yourself whenever you talk to someone new. Once you have the GROW worksheet, you can use it whenever you need to talk to someone again and can send it to them for reference.
  • It has all the resources and action items shared in one place so you know exactly what to do.
  • The four components can help you make an informed decision.

A Straightforward Process

Many people have shared their positive feedback about the GROW process. It can be difficult to navigate so many phone calls with people trying to help you, but GROW is a helpful tool to remember important information. The GROW process is straightforward and easy to follow, which people appreciate when faced with difficult decisions.

If you feel you would benefit from the GROW process, please visit our Ask An Advocate page here and fill out the form. You can also check out our FAQ here, and find our contact information here if you’d like to call the Help Desk.