What is Supported Decision Making?
The South Carolina Supported Decision Making Project aims to educate parents, professionals, and individuals with disabilities about alternatives to guardianship that promote self-determination and value quality of life. Supported Decision Making is “a recognized alternative to guardianship through which people with disabilities use friends, family members, and professionals to help them understand the situations and choices they face, so they may make their own decisions without the ‘need’ for a guardian." In Supported Decision Making, individuals can choose “Supporters” to assist them in different areas of their lives—employment, education, services, finances, health, etc.
See Supported Decision Making in Action:
Meet Grace!
Age: 22
Hobbies: Reading, watching movies, painting, and music
Disabilities: Cerebral palsy, autism, chronic illnesses
How I Use My Supports:
- I have conversations with my supports, even if they’re difficult conversations to have.
“SDM is important to me because I want to have the same rights as any other adult and SDM is a great alternative to guardianship.”
How I Use My Financial Supports:
- I get support from family, friends, my romantic partner as well as teachers, professors, medical professionals, and Able SC when making financial decisions.
“I don’t have a lot of money so when I spend money I want to make sure I am doing so wisely.”
How I Use My Healthcare Supports:
- I have my father as my next of kin with medical power of attorney in case decisions need to be made for my care when I am in a situation where I can’t make them myself.
- I also use my doctors and nurses as a reliable source for making my medical decisions.
“I mostly make my own medical decisions, but I have my father as my next of kin... He knows all of my wishes, including my wishes for end-of-life care... You never know what’s going to happen, so it’s good to be prepared.”
How I Use My Education Supports:
- I use my college advisor as well as my professors, the career center at my college, and my family and friends to make decisions about college.
- When I was in K-12 I made sure to voice my wants and needs regarding how inclusive of a classroom I wanted to be in. The answer was the most inclusive possible.
“Supported decision making is important to every college student, not just people with disabilities. Everyone has an advisor to make sure that the classes that they are taking support their degree.”
How I Use My Relationship & Friendship Supports:
- I make romantic decisions by getting input from family and friends so I can know whether or not I’m in a potentially abusive or toxic relationship.
- I also make romantic decisions by talking things through with my partner to see how to solve problems.
“When I make a relationship decisions, I ask for help because I cannot always tell when I am being treated poorly, but I also believe that I deserve to be treated well.”
How I Use Employment My Supports:
- I use my benefits counselor in order to make decisions about how many hours I work in order to make sure I don’t lose my benefits.
- I also get input from Able SC when making career decisions.
“My income is limited by being on disability, so when I make career decisions I use a benefits counselor to help her to make sure that I am not going to lose my health insurance and Social Security.”
Check out our other resources and SDM in action!
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