Supported Decision-Making: Emerging Paradigm in Research, Law, and Policy

Abstract

Supported decision-making (“SDM”) is an emerging paradigm in which people use friends, family members, and professionals to help them understand and address the situations and choices they encounter in everyday life. The aim of SDM is to empower individuals to make their own decisions to the maximum extent possible to increase self-determination. SDM is an alternative to overly restrictive guardianship or substitute decision-making regimes to which persons with cognitive and mental health disabilities historically have been relegated in law and policy. This special issue examines emergent issues involving SDM in areas of research, law, and policy. It examines SDM from American and comparative law, research, and policy perspectives, as recognized in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and from the perspective of the lived experience.