Supported decision-making is when people with disability get support to make or act on their own decisions
Having choice and control means your decisions are heard and respected. This is a basic human right and it’s the foundation of self-direction.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability explains the rights of people with disability to be recognised as equal under the law.
We all use a range of supports when we might want to make a decision, especially if the decision will have a big impact or consequences for us. We might ask for guidance and information from professionals, friends, family or colleagues.
We might choose certain people to help us with our decisions, based on what we know about them and the support they can offer.
At WAiS, we work together with people, families and the disability sector to develop a practical approach to supported decision-making. We share what we learn through a range of resources. Our resources are freely available. You can find them below.
We received support to do this project through a 2013 Quality Services Improvement Grant funded by National Disability Services and the Department of Communities – Disability Services.
You can download the Resource book using the buttons below.
Supported Decision Making Project - Workshops
Understanding the persons communication
Getting to know the person
Supported decision-making is when someone helps you make important decisions about:
- your life
- how you will live.
It could be a:
- family member or relative
- close friend
- guardian – a person who makes decisions for another person.
We need to know who is important in someone’s life so we:
- know who to work with
- can make the right decisions.
Good support means offering support to work out decisions based on:
- the person and what’s important to them
- what’s important for their health and wellbeing.
Good support comes from choosing the best person to support you.
Everyone has important people in their life.
We use these people for support when we need to make important decisions.
They can offer us their point of view based on how well they know us.
We choose certain people depending on the decision we have to make.
You might get help from:
- people you work with
- professionals – people whose job is to help.
If you want to give someone the right decision-making support, you need to:
- work together
- really listen and hear what is important to them.
- a basic human right
- what self-direction is all about.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention) is an international agreement.
It applies all around the world.
The UN Convention sets out the rights of people with disability.
At WAiS, we work to develop a practical approach to supported decision-making.
We work together with:
- the disability sector.
We share what we learn through a range of resources.
Our resources are accessible and freely available.
We’ve also made some videos that you can watch below.