I am an Adult With Autism. I Built a Team to Help Me Make Decisions

by Jonathan Gardner with Sarah Boonin

I am a 21-year-old home school graduate and cancer survivor who happens to have autism. A lot of people like me have a guardian — but I don’t. A guardian is someone like a family member, friend or professional appointed by the court to make decisions about another person’s health, safety and self-care when the court decides that person can’t make their own decisions. Instead of a guardian, I use a tool called supported decision-making or SDM.

When I was 16, the public school system told my mother and me that I would need full guardianship once I turned 18. In that case, my legal guardian would have the final say in all major decisions about my life, including where I would live and what services I would receive, along with all of my financial and medical decisions — likely for the rest of my life. This didn't feel right. I had always been involved in making my own decisions, and it didn’t make sense to take that away from me once I became an adult. Luckily, my mom knew a little about SDM, so we decided to try that instead.

SDM is an alternative to guardianship where a person like me, a “decision-maker,” picks a group of people they trust to help them make their own decisions. SDM enables me to be the CEO of my own life — just like most other people. I have used SDM my entire adult life, including in my fight against cancer. I would not be the person I am today without SDM.

I started by choosing the people I trust most to be my “supporters.” I then chose which supporters would help me with which types of decisions, and how I wanted each of them to help. My supporters include my mom, dad, brother, my mentor, friends, a therapist and others. I entered into an agreement with my supporters, and my plan has evolved as I’ve gotten older. My supporters provide different types of advice and assistance to me so I can live my best life. Thanks to SDM, I am the one in control of my life, not a judge or guardian.

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I am an Adult with Autism. I Built a Team to Help Me Make Decisions