Free Articles from Interaction 28 Issue 2 Choice does not equal “informed choice” ... | Page 4

interaction : v28/2/’14

not be able to do maths (she now does sums). Furthermore, she is having a very real
impact on the lives of people all around her – in her class, her school, in her family
and beyond. We can unreservedly say that the world is an infinitely better place for
welcoming her into it.
The sad reality is that this path of discovery and possibility very nearly never existed
for her or for us. The even sadder reality is that there are thousands of stories just like
ours that will never be told or written because “choice” has so quickly swept aside
“informed choice.” The question has to be asked why this vital information was not
forthcoming, despite our exhaustive search and questioning.
It is truly astounding how quick we are to limit what we believe others are capable
of. Our professionals and policymakers appear to ignore the evidence and develop
strategies and institutions that foster and develop these low expectations and give us
choices based not on “what works” or “what is possible” but what gets the most
resources and is easiest to manage. We segregate people who are different under the
auspices of giving them a greater chance to learn skills that will help them to live out
in the world one day. But what chance do they have to function in a world that they
were not allowed to experience and learn from during their formative years and
therefore know nothing of?
We are infinitely lucky to have been able to alter our path. It is however not the
“easy” path and not without its challenges. The lessons we have learned have been
hard learned and are not easily found along any of the paths offered up, but in the
uneasy search beyond the beaten track.

!24

Australian Institute on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities