Creating Communities in Which Everyone Belongs: A Case Study in Supported Decision-Making

According to the social justice model of disability, inclusion is about securing civil and human rights for individuals with disabilities. To that end, supported decision-making is a person-centred process that allows individuals to take control of their own choices and increases their ability to live self-determined lives. Utilizing a case-study approach, this chapter examines the differences between guardianship and supported decision-making and explores how one individual who had been placed within a guardianship format, embraced a more supported decision-making framework through self-selecting a group of family, friends and professionals to serve in an advisory capacity. Through this approach, he regained control of decision-making, assumed the ‘dignity of risk’ associated with decision-making and restored his right to self-determination.