Supported decision making (SDM) is one alternative to guardianship. It a tool that allows people with disabilities to make their own decisions and build their own lives with support from a team of people they choose. A person using SDM can select trusted advisors, such as friends, family members, or professionals, to serve as supporters, who agree to help the person with a disability understand, consider, and communicate decisions, giving the person with a disability the tools to make her own, informed, decisions.
Where to Start?
- When Do I Want Support? (ACLU)
- Guardianship Laws in Indiana
- Supported Decision Making in Indiana (Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities)
- Exploring Decision-Making Supports (LifeCourse Tool)
- Top 7 Things to Know About Supported Decision-Making (Indiana Disability Rights Network)
- Supported Decision-Making: Protecting Rights, Ensuring Choices (Jonathan Martinis)
- Making Healthcare Choices: Perspectives of People with Disabilities
- Supported Decision-Making: 5 Reasons to Re-Think Guardianship
- Supported Decision-Making: What Supported Decision-Making is and Why It Matters
- Supported Decision Making, an Alternative to Conservatorships
- What’s Next: A Self-Advocate’s Guided Tour through Transition for Parents and Other Supporters
Sample Supported Decision-Making Agreements:
- ACLU Supported Decision-Making Agreement
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network Supported Decision-Making Agreement
- Nonotuck Resource Associates and Center for Public Representation Supported Decision-Making Agreement
- Authorizations to Share Medical and Educational Records (California-based)