Make Possible
Sometimes you know what would help — rest more, reduce a demand, pace differently, attend an appointment, eat properly, leave the house, manage a task or reconnect with something important — but knowing what you need does not automatically make it possible.
This is where we look at the things around the person: care, people, practical support, environment, accommodations, tools and equipment.
Find what could help → Go back to Respond →Knowing what would help is not always enough.
A person can understand their needs very well and still not have the energy, executive function, money, physical ability, sensory tolerance, support or environment needed to act on them.
“Make Possible” asks what needs to change around the person so the response they need becomes easier to access.
Sometimes the answer is treatment. Sometimes another person needs to help. Sometimes a task needs to be simplified. Sometimes the environment is the problem. Sometimes one small tool removes a surprisingly large barrier.
What is getting in the way?
You do not have to decide which service or tool you need first. It can be easier to start with the problem.
Six places to look
You may need one of these, several of them, or something completely different. The aim is not to add more interventions. It is to find what genuinely reduces barriers or supports capacity.
Professional Care
Assessment, diagnosis, treatment, allied health, therapy, management plans and help deciding what needs medical attention.
Explore Professional Care →Family & Support
Shared responsibility, helping without taking over, co-regulation, communication and adjusting support to capacity.
Add Family & Support link aboveNDIS & Other Support
Support workers, disability services, community supports, private assistance and other ways of getting practical help.
Coming soonEnvironment & Accommodations
Change the surroundings or expectations rather than asking the person to continually push through avoidable barriers.
Explore Environment →Practical Tools
Check-ins, planners, routines, visual supports, downloads and simple strategies that make the next step easier.
Find Practical Tools →Devices & Equipment
Equipment and everyday items that can reduce effort, improve access, support regulation or increase independence.
Explore Devices →The support depends on the response.
Rest, Reduce, Pace and Expand can each need different things around the person.
Rest
What could protect enough time, quiet, comfort and practical support for genuine recovery?
Reduce
What can be removed, simplified, delegated, accommodated or made less demanding?
Pace
What could make daily demands fit the physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional and social capacity available?
What “make possible” can look like
Often the useful change is not dramatic. It is something that removes enough friction for a person to do what matters.
“I need to rest.”
“I need to reduce.”
“I need to pace.”
“I’d like to do more.”
Use enough support to make it manageable.
Making something possible does not automatically mean another person should take it over. Sometimes only a small amount of scaffolding is needed. At other times, taking over a task temporarily may protect essential capacity.
When you are not sure what would help
Do I need another strategy — or less to manage?
Before adding another routine, treatment or tool, ask whether the current problem could be improved by removing something.
Reducing demands, decisions, sensory load, appointments or unnecessary steps may sometimes help more than adding another management task.
Could someone else help with this?
Consider whether another person could prompt, plan, accompany, share, temporarily take over or help with the hardest part.
Support can come from family, friends, professionals, support workers, community services or paid practical help.
Could the environment change instead?
Look for barriers such as noise, lighting, temperature, physical access, clutter, travel, waiting, crowds, smells, interruptions or lack of somewhere to rest.
Changing the environment may be more effective than repeatedly asking the person to tolerate the same avoidable load.
Would a tool or device remove friction?
Sometimes a timer, checklist, trolley, stool, headphones, meal shortcut, visual prompt, mobility aid or other simple item changes the effort required enough to make an activity manageable.
Is this something that needs professional care?
Professional input may be important when symptoms are new, worsening, unexplained, risky, significantly affecting function, or when diagnosis, treatment or specialised guidance is needed.
ALPIMS tools can support day-to-day management, but they do not replace appropriate professional assessment or treatment.
What if none of these things make it possible right now?
Sometimes the answer is that the activity is not realistically manageable with the capacity and support currently available.
That information matters too. It may mean returning to Rest, reducing the demand further, seeking additional support, or deciding that this is not the right time to pursue it.
Sometimes one barrier is enough to work on.
You do not have to redesign your whole life. Look for one thing that is making an important activity harder than it needs to be.
Did that make it more possible?
The point is not to create the perfect support plan. Try something that seems proportionate to the barrier, then notice what changed.
Did it reduce effort?
Did it protect capacity?
Did it make participation easier?
Did it create a new problem?
Do you need more support — or less?
Check in again →
Related ALPIMS pages
You do not always have to try harder.
Sometimes the useful change is treatment. Sometimes it is another person. Sometimes it is a quieter room, a different expectation, a smaller task or a simple tool.
Instead of only asking “Can I do this?”, try asking “What could make this more possible?”
Return to ALPIMS →ALPIMS provides general information and practical support ideas. Individual needs, health conditions, disability and circumstances differ. Information on this page is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological, disability, financial or other professional advice.