Supporting end of life decision making: Case studies of relational closeness in supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the use of supported decision making in lieu of substitute decision making. To date, there has been a lack of focus on supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability, including for end of life decisions. METHODS: Five people with severe or profound intellectual disability's experiences of supported decision making were examined. This article is particularly focused on one participant's experiences at the end of his life. RESULTS: All five case studies identified that supporters were most effective in providing decision-making support for participants wh..