Red flags
- Everyone gets up at roughly the same time because that suits the shift.
- Staff routinely choose people's clothes.
- Choices are limited to two options selected by staff.
- Someone is asked what they want but their choice is regularly unavailable.
- Staff say, “They always choose the same thing, so we don't ask anymore.”
- Someone's refusal is described as “non-compliance”.
- Staff assume a person cannot choose because they do not use speech.
- Activities are determined mainly by staffing availability.
- People have little influence over who supports them.
- Risk is automatically used as a reason to prevent someone's preferred choice.
Choice isn't measured by the number of times staff ask “What do you want?”
Look at how much influence the person actually has over what happens.