I get really confused, and even angry sometimes at lower support needs people who donât understand the true meaning of autonomy and when it comes to caregivers and guardianship.
I mentioned ONCE in a group about wanting to go into assisted living and looking into it. Immediately got dog piled by people saying to absolutely not go into assisted living because itd âtake away my autonomyâ and âI should just live with others for as long as possible.â
Assisted living, group homes, guardianship, whatever, can very much mean that someone actually GAINS autonomy. And independence. The goal is for quality of life. We should be focusing on quality of life instead of what YOU want. What YOU want as a lower support needs person because youâve heard bad stories.
Higher support needs people often donât get the decision. Itâs life or death for them. Yâall HAVE to realize that.
Stop forcing your narrative on young higher support needs people who are looking into different options for their care. Yes. Itâs SCARY to be put in a bad situation, but often times itâs trial and error for us. Yâall HAVE to realize that. We donât have the privilege to pick and choose between if we just live independently or go in a group home. Itâs group home, or death, or living in a fucked up, maybe even abusive situation already.