This article describes the Community Options Program in Wisconsin, USA which has been in operation since 1982 and which provides individualised supports to elderly people, people with physical disabilities and families of people with developmental disability. The article points to the fact that professional assessment does not identify real needs of people, rather this occurs by providing opportunities to people to say what it is they need in order to stay within the community, and listening and acting on this. It shows that funding can be based on this approach and does not create budget overruns. The use of plain language has ensured a political commitment as well as enabling everyone to actually understand what the program offers. One of the positive outcomes is the move away from the creation of specialised services into which people have to fit. Keywords: Individualisation, Accommodation