Jeremy Moore’s Ethical Guide for
Supporting People with Intellectual
Disability
Principles for Carers and Service Providers to help a person with intellectual disability
make decisions
1. The person is a citizen and is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. You need to know them,
gather the facts, understand their background and the way they have lived their lives;
2. A good rule is always to treat a person with intellectual disability in the same way you would like your
mother, father, brother, sister or best friend treated;
3. You should:
• Provide adequate time for the process,
• Talk to the person rather than the other people present,
• Make sure that the person is comfortable about the process you are embarking upon (i.e. may need a
family member in the room for significant decisions to provide support),
• Consider the need to accommodate hearing, vision loss, where people are seated, the need for aids
and good lighting,
• Consider the need to accommodate cognitive impairment – make enough time and speak both slowly
and clearly,
• Use questions that are easy to answer with a simple response,
• Consider the decision that the person makes,
• Consider if the decision is consistent with and in keeping with the way they have lived their life and
their core values.
4. If the decision is consistent with past decision making, implement the decision;
5. If the decision is not consistent with their past decisions, consult other people as to what to do;
6. If the decision is inconsistent with past decision making, consult the guardian/substitute decision maker if
there is one. Otherwise:
• Consult the family, and if not available,
• Consult the person’s GP, and if not available,
• Consult the office of the Public Advocate, and if not available,
• Consult South Australian Civil Administration Tribunal (SACAT).
7. If the decision is not of a significant nature then it follows that others should not interfere with the
person’s current wishes (e.g. wearing a red dress or blue jeans to a party). Remember to use ‘a light
touch’ approach and never interfere with a person’s decision unless there is good reason to do so.
Consent to Medical Treatment
A person cannot receive medical treatment without consent. People over 16 years of age can consent to their
own medical treatment if they have the decision -making capacity to do so.
A person will be seen to have impaired decision making capacity if they are not capable of:
• Understanding any information that may be relevant to the decision (including information relating to the
consequences of making the decision); or
• Retaining such information; or
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