DDWA Health Circle & Supported Decision Making Developmental Disability WA is hosting regular opportunities for members to talk about the health issues that affect them and to be part of designing resources, information, skills and education to help them have a strong voice in the health care of themselves or the people they support. Our first Health Circle will focus on supported decision making and difficult decisions.         How can I help the person I care about understand what’s happening to them? How would I respond if a decision had to be made in a medical emergency? How do I weigh up possible side effects when I’m making a decision about treatment? What’s a good decision when it comes to things like sexual health? How do I think through end-of-life care decisions for someone with a terminal illness? Am I confident that I’ve given them the best chance of being part of this decision? Do I have they authority to make that decision? What does ‘dignity of risk’ mean when we’re talking about health? These are some of the big questions that people are faced with when it comes to health care for people with developmental disabilities. These are also very personal and ethical decisions which can be very emotional ones too. Supported decision making is a way of supporting someone who might have limited decision making abilities to make as many decisions as they can. In this forum we’ll talk about how you can bring supported decision making to these difficult decisions for people with significant levels of disability. FRIDAY 24TH APRIL 2015 FACILITATORS— Jaquie Mills — Jaquie is a parent of a young man with complex needs. She works in the areas of complex communication needs, family leadership and challenging behaviour. Maxine Drake —Maxine is an advocate with experience in Health, Disabilities, Guardianship, Mental Health services and helping people to negotiate with powerful service systems. WHAT IS THE DDWA HEALTH CIRCLE? The DDWA Health Circle will be the key way for members to guide our work to support better health outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. In addition, the Health Circle will help to influence decision making on disability and health by providing a way of connecting with the Disability Health Network. The Disability Health Network is a partnership between the WA Department of Health and the Disability Services Commission to influence policy and service delivery to improve health outcomes for people with a disability. www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/network/disability.cfm TIME—9.30am to 12.30pm COST—Free. Morning Tea provided RSVP—www.ddc.org.au/events-apr-2015/ VENUE—Conference Room, City West Lotteries House, 2 Delhi St, West Perth GETTING THERE Train—City West on Fremantle line Bus—Green Cat (Sutherland St) or Yellow Cat (Harold Boas Gardens) Car—Watertown (Harbourtown) Shopping Centre carpark-cash only, or Delhi St (limited bays) INFORMATION—[email protected] or 9420 7230 (exc Wed)