My Rights: Supported Decision Making

Region: Canada

Beyond Guardianship: Supported Decision Making By Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities

Guardianship deprives people with intellectual disabilities of their ability to make their own decisions, and of legal recognition of those decisions. A guardian is appointed by a court to make some or all decisions for the person, based on “substituted judgment,” taking into account what the person wants or would have wanted. If the guardian does not know what the person wants or would have wanted, the guardian can make a decision based on his or her view of the person’s “best interests.”

Ratification of the UN Convention on The Rights of Person with Disabilities would create both the opportunity and obligation to move from a legal system that measures and judges “mental capacity” – and that, upon a finding of”incapacity,” appoints a guardian to make substituted or best interest decisions for the person under guardianship – to a system that affirms the legal capacity of persons with intellectual disabilities and provides them with the supports necessary to make their own decisions and have those decisions legally recognized.

Claiming Full Citizenship 2015 International Conference

With the passage of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, self-determination, personalization and individualized funding initiatives have a new foundation upon which to build. In countries all over the world, these initiatives are transforming the lives of people with disabilities. Like the shift from institutions to community services, these initiatives are a momentous step forward in assisting people with disabilities and seniors achieve meaningful and rewarding lives as full citizens. In October of 2015, the UBC Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship is hosted “Claiming Full Citizenship: an international conference on Self Determination, Personalization and Individualized Funding”. This document is the syllabus from this event.

Future Directions in Supported Decision-Making

This article explores the theoretical foundations of supported decision-making and the evolution of supported decision-making research. It explains the research that is emerging in leading jurisdictions, the United States and Australia, and its potential to transform disability services and laws related to decision-making. Finally, it identifies areas of concern in the direction of such research and provides recommendations for ensuring that supported decision-making remains protective of the rights, will and preferences of people with cognitive disability.

From Provisions to Practice: Implementing The Convention

With supported decision-making, the presumption is always in favour of the person with a disability who will be affected by the decision. The individual is the decision maker; the support person(s) explain(s) the issues, when necessary, and interpret(s) the signs and preferences of the individual. Even when an individual with a disability requires totalsupport, the support person(s) should enable the individual to exercise his/her legal capacity to the greatest extent possible, according to the wishes of the individual. This distinguishes supported decision-making from substituted decision-making, such as advance directives and legal mentors/friends, where the guardian or tutor has court-authorized power to make decisions on behalf of the individual without necessarily having to demonstrate that those decisions are in the individual’s best interest or according to Development and human rights for all.

Funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. Go to www.dss.gov.au for more information.
These resources are in the process of being transferred to Inclusion Solutions. Click here to visit their website.

A resource of WA Individualised Services.