Examining the Complexities of Support for Decision-Making Practice

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has created new imperatives for thinking about decision making and people with intellectual disabilities. In this chapter, we consider the emerging evidence about decision support and the practice of supported decision making developed from our programme of research at La Trobe University in Australia. The overarching aim of our research programme has been to understand what constitutes good decision support practice, how to guide the practice of supporters, how the quality of practice might be judged and how to protect people with disabilities from abuse by holding supporters accountable for their practice. Drawing on our research findings on people with intellectual disabilities, we consider the issues supporters grapple with to provide support that respects the will and preferences of people with intellectual disabilities and their right to participate in decision making about their lives.