Disabled People Choice and Control
Choice and control are rights articulated in the UN Convention on the rights of the person with disabilities.
What are some of the issues with the way the NDIS interprets and supports choice and control?
Choice and control is a concept borrowed from the human rights framework which essentially advocates for individual autonomy and involvement in personal, political and social spheres of life for the people with disability (ACTCOSS, 2017). The concept outlines that people living with disability have a right to express their identity, autonomy and dignity in all spheres of life. The NDIS has, however, narrowed the interpretation of the concept to apply only in the contexts of the relationships between the people with disability and specialists in the disability services markets. This interpretation limits the exercise of choice and control in the political, economic and social spheres of life, which disempowers and limits choice and control among people with disability.
Reducing choice and control for people with disability limits their ability to participate in greater issues that affect their lives both directly and indirectly. The denial of economic choice and control, for instance, will inhibit them from gaining economic independence. The limited scope of choice and control also implies that the people living with disability will not have opportunities to engage in advocating for equal rights and services. Thus, the limitation of the scope of the exercise of choice and control by NDIS works against the vision of the human rights framework that seeks to enhance the recognition of the identity and the autonomy of the people with disability.
References
ACTCOSS. (2017). Choice and Control: Strengthening human rights, power and inclusion for people with disability. ACT Council of Social Service.