Support for Decision Making

Author's summary

The need for good support for decision making has been highlighted through the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s (NDIS) emphasis on choice and control and its imperative to generate support plans for all participants. Involvement in decision making enables people to have greater control over their own lives, improving their self-identity, psychological wellbeing and quality of life. The NDIS means that people with cognitive disability will have more opportunities to make decisions about the direction of their lives and the support they receive. A significant challenge is ensuring they have support to enable them to participate in decisions – at the preplanning, planning, implementation stage of their plans and in their day-to-day lives. This means not only understanding the processes of good support for decision making but also recognising the role of decision making supporters and developing their skills.
The right to make decisions about one’s own life, particularly big decisions is regulated by the law. People with cognitive disability often have their right to make decisions removed through appointment of a guardian. However article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability states that people with disability are equal before the law (acknowledged as having legal capacity and legal standing). The accompanying comment suggests that guardianship laws are contrary to this right. The UN Convention has generated debate about the concept of supported decision making and the need for legal reform. In 2014 the Australian Law Reform Commission proposed that “the will, preferences and rights of persons who may require decision making support must direct decisions that affect their lives” (ALRC, 2014, para 3).
Enabling people with cognitive disabilities to direct their own decisions will only happen if supporters have high expectations that people can participate in decision making, have strong commitments to making this happen, and have a tool box of strategies ready to be tailored to each individual and each decision. The aim of this Support for Decision Making Practice Framework is to lay foundations to guide practice for decision making supporters of people with cognitive disability. The framework is based on research undertaken by the authors, and their colleagues at the Living with Disability Research Centre1 and our interpretations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Resource Center comment

Ce document est un guide produit par des chercheurs pour aider les aidants à accompagner les personnes qui ont une déficience intellectuelle, à prendre leurs décisions. Il est le fruit d’un projet de recherche, qui est présenté dans l’article «Development of an evidence-based practice framework to guide decision making support for people with cognitive impairment due to acquired brain injury or intellectual disability » disponible dans cette notice.

Ce document nous semble pertinent car il permettra de servir d’appui aux aidants accompagnant une personne ayant une déficience intellectuelle. Il s’inscrit donc dans une démarche de renforcement de la prise de décision par les personnes concernées elles-mêmes, en apportant des exemples et pistes concrètes aux personnes qui les accompagnent.

Ce document pourra intéresser particulièrement les aidants et les associations.