Guardianship – Why or why not?

Before you read this, stop and ask yourself what are you trying to achieve by having a guardian appointed for your adult child with special needs?

(I would love to read your answers. If you want to share, click here.)

Guardianship is a legal proceeding where a medical professional tells a judge that an individual is INCAPACITATED and unable to make decisions.

This a huge statement and is used to admit people who are endangering themselves into places they won’t agree to go – hospitals or psychiatric facilities. It’s the last resort.

So why are parents AUTOMATICALLY doing it at 18 years old? We are taught to presume competence, to watch our kids continue to learn for a lifetime…

And we know that even the lowest verbal ability does not indicate how perceptive someone is!

What is the message someone receives when you have them declared incapacitated?

“But what about their safety? Without a guardian, they can be taken advantage of!”

Guardianship is not going to prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Humans prevent those things.

Texas did a great thing in 2009 when they funded a pilot project with DADS & the Arc of San Angelo to test Guardianship outcomes vs an alternative called Supported Decision Making.

The outcomes were so good without guardianship that, in 2015, Texas Legislature mandated that probate courts consider alternatives to guardianshipand supports and services before a guardianship is created.

Don’t be driven to expensive and harmful options out of fear, when the state has provide a tool to help you collaborate with your child.

An article compiling resources on this topic available here.