From Shannon Watters
Supported Decision Making
WHAT is it?
- Supported Decision Making is the understanding that a student with a disability can access people in their community to assist with decision making. A person uses trusted family, friends, or professionals for support to understand, evaluate, and communicate their decisions. It’s not a document, it’s a series of relationships, practices, arrangements and agreements. Supported Decision Making is a less restrictive alternative to guardianship.
WHAT do I need to do?
- Discuss at each IEP meeting that includes post-secondary goals.
- Discussion points:
- understanding that a student with a disability can access people in their community to assist with decision making
- a series of relationships, practices, arrangements and agreements
- a less restrictive alternative to guardianship (may not be appropriate for all disabilities)
- Add the template to “Additional Present Levels”
- Use RCC to create meeting notice.
- They will send home the brochure along with Procedural Safeguards
- Mark the checkbox on the Attendance Sheet
- Mention in the Meeting Notes
- Discussion points:
RESOURCES:
Flyers/Brochures
- Parent Flyer
- Student Flyer
- ODE Site
- English Brochure
- Spanish Brochure
- Russian Brochure
- Simplified Chinese Brochure
- Vietnamese Brochure
- Somali Brochure
IEP Paperwork
- Fillable Attendance (Download from Google as Microsoft Word to your computer to be fillable)
- Procedural Safeguards combined with SDM brochure