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Supported Decision-Making and Personal Autonomy for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Nandini Devi
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Extract

Making decisions is an important component of everyday living, and issues surrounding autonomy and self-determination are crucial for persons with intellectual disabilities. Adults with intellectual disabilities are characterized by the limitations in their intellectual functioning and in their adaptive behavior, which compromises three skill types (conceptual skills, social skills, and practical skills), and this starts before the age of 18. Though persons with intellectual disabilities are characterized by having these limitations, they are thought to face significant decisionmaking challenges due to their disability. Moving away from this generalization, Article 12 (Equal recognition before the law) of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (herewith called “the Convention”) addresses this issue of decision-making for persons with disabilities, recognizing the right to legal capacity.

Type
Symposium
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 41 , Issue 4 , Winter 2013 , pp. 792 - 806
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2013

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