“Alternatives to Guardianship” by Kim Plaut

Former MASS Board member Kim Plaut wrote the following paper promoting Supported Decision Making (SDM) as a preferred alternative to guardianship.

“I am only one of many individuals with a disability, and I have observed and talked to many people. It is important to know that a lot of individuals with disabilities can make their own decisions if you just give them all enough time and sufficient support. We all want to choose what to do with our lives just like everyone else out there. In this paper, I am going to demonstrate some of the decisions I had to make to see my life dream become a reality, but I am also going to show how I had to make some difficult decisions between three different types of platforms that are supposed to assist individuals so they can understand their life choices. Now I want everyone to realize that one major thing that doesn’t always get acknowledged is all the rights that individuals with disabilities are entitled to.”