Tom is a forty-year-old man employed in a non-union shop where he does repetitive spot welding. He is reliable and friendly, and well liked by his fellow workers. Tom can read and write, but at a very basic skill level. Tom lives in an apartment with two others who are also adults with developmental disabilities. Although all three are employed independently, they do have a support worker who visits the apartment two to three times per month.

When Tom is not working, he has interests which are more far-ranging. He is, for example, interested in hockey and has visited the Hockey Hall of Fame on numerous occasions. Although he has not yet carried out his wish, he would like to visit the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario Science Centre. Tom is also very interested in politics and the election process.

Tom attends a literacy program three evenings per week. After discussion with his literacy practitioner, Tom has decided that he has a number of very specific goals he would like to achieve. He finds, for example, that he ends up doing most of the household chores around the apartment. In addition, he would also like to create a weekly budget for food and share the cost with his roommates.

Tom is on light medication, and wants to keep his weight down, and be as physically fit as some of his hockey heroes. He needs to get an exercise chart from his doctor and be able to follow it.

Since Tom's brother plays in a hockey league, Tom tries to attend as many of the games as he can. When trips are out of town, Tom has a problem because he can't really understand the bus schedules and the costs of the trips. However, the end of the season game is to be held in Barrie, some thirty minutes from Toronto. Tom's goal is to find out when the bus to Barrie leaves, and what the cost of the trip will be.