Empowerment and Autonomy

Supporting Autonomy, Choice, and Wellbeing for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• Providing individuals with options and respecting their choices is essential for promoting their sense of independence, self-esteem, and overall wellbeing.
• As a support worker, it's important to present all available, safe, legal, and relevant options without deciding which options are “good” or “bad” choices.
• Choice-making is a skill that may need to be taught, and visual aids like picture schedules or choice boards can be helpful.
• Creating opportunities for choosing and providing experience and knowledge about options and consequences is crucial for supporting autonomy and choice.
• Helping someone to sample new leisure and vocational activities can be an important part of a support worker's job within Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).
• Issues of capacity and consent must be considered within the PBS planning process, especially for medical treatments and assessments and other interventions and assessments.
• The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a framework for assessing capacity and making decisions on behalf of individuals who lack capacity in England and Wales.
• The assessment of capacity is decision-specific and can vary depending on the situation, not based on a person's appearance, behaviour, or diagnosis.
• Communication of relevant information to the person receiving support in a format that they understand is crucial for capacity assessment.
• The assessment must involve consultation with the person themselves, as well as their family and other relevant professionals as appropriate.
• Capacity can fluctuate and may depend on a person's physical or emotional state at a given time, so assessments should be made on an ongoing basis and reviewed regularly.
• Supporting autonomy, choice, and wellbeing is an essential part of the work of support workers for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Supporting Autonomy, Choice, and Wellbeing for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• Providing individuals with options and respecting their choices is essential for promoting their sense of independence, self-esteem, and overall wellbeing.
• As a support worker, it's important to present all available, safe, legal, and relevant options without deciding which options are “good” or “bad” choices.
• Choice-making is a skill that may need to be taught, and visual aids like picture schedules or choice boards can be helpful.
• Creating opportunities for choosing and providing experience and knowledge about options and consequences is crucial for supporting autonomy and choice.
• Helping someone to sample new leisure and vocational activities can be an important part of a support worker's job within Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).
• Issues of capacity and consent must be considered within the PBS planning process, especially for medical treatments and assessments and other interventions and assessments.
• The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a framework for assessing capacity and making decisions on behalf of individuals who lack capacity in England and Wales.
• The assessment of capacity is decision-specific and can vary depending on the situation, not based on a person's appearance, behaviour, or diagnosis.
• Communication of relevant information to the person receiving support in a format that they understand is crucial for capacity assessment.
• The assessment must involve consultation with the person themselves, as well as their family and other relevant professionals as appropriate.
• Capacity can fluctuate and may depend on a person's physical or emotional state at a given time, so assessments should be made on an ongoing basis and reviewed regularly.
• Supporting autonomy, choice, and wellbeing is an essential part of the work of support workers for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.