Introduction to consent, capacity and decision making for people with developmental disability

People with developmental disability are entitled to the same human rights and medical treatment as everyone (for more information, see Principles of health care for people with developmental disability); many will have the capacity to make independent decisions about health care, lifestyle, finances and other matters.

For people with developmental disability who have communication or cognitive difficulties, supported decision making and other reasonable adjustments to care can help to enable their participation in many types of decisions. The focus of legislation around capacity and consent to treatment is to safeguard individuals with impaired capacity, and restrict situations where decisions are made wholly by someone other than the person with developmental disability. Such decisions will infringe on the person’s rights to some degree, even if they are well intended.