Supported Decision-Making Service

Supported Decision-Making Service for Persons with Disabilities | Service Model

The Human Rights Center for People with Disabilitis

Practical tools:

• Compare the options according to different parameters (pros/cons, advantages/

disadvantages, practical/impractical, immediate/far-off.

• Demonstrate the options, for instance by simulation or experience.

• Break down a goal to several sub-assignments to make it easier for the person to

understand the different options available to them.

• Assist the person to limit or expand the number of options available to them.

D. Choice

Choosing between the different options is a significant and constitutive moment in the

process. The supporter's role at this stage is mainly to help the person reach a decision-

making junction. Once the options have been presented including their advantages and

disadvantages, the choice is the person’s alone, and it is not purely rational. It also involves

emotional considerations, inter-personal influences and intuition. The supporter's role at this stage

is to conceptualize the choice for the person and help them prepare for the next stage, the

implementation of the decision.

E. Implementation

Whether or not support in the implementation of the decision is part of the role of the

decision-making supporter is a matter of debate. Bizchut's position is that the decision-

making process is futile without support in the implementation of the decision.

Therefore, Bizchut's model also includes the implementation element. Supporting the

implementation consists of three aspects:

Examination of the ways to implement the decision

: In certain areas, the state provides the

person assistance in the implementation of their decisions (such as employment support). In

certain areas assistance may be privately acquired and in certain areas assistance is either non-

existent or insufficient. The supporter can help the person examine the different implementation

options and decide how they would like to use them.

Exhaustion of rights

: a considerable number of services are aimed at assisting a person to

implement their choices: supported living accommodation, supported employment, legal aid,

third-sector services for exhaustion of rights, etc. The supporter should help the person exhaust

their rights using the currently available services according to their choices and decisions.

External guardian about a pilot participant:

It seems that Shira's requests are more focused than they used to be in the past. She

does not call just for idle conversations, she requests realistic things.