Think about the options

On-screen: Logo for Inclusion Australia. Make Decisions Real. Step 3 Think about options and consequences

On-screen: Lorran, Brooke

Lorraine speaks.

Lorraine: Step 3 is thinking about options and consequences.

This means asking yourself important questions about the decision, like

• Can I afford to do it?
• Do I have enough spare time to do it?
• And who else will my decision affect?

You should also weigh up any risks of the decision and work out some ways to manage them.

One of the ways you can weigh up the risks is by writing down all the good things about the decision, then writing down any risks or bad things about the decision to help you decide. This is called a Pros and Cons list.

You can ask your decision supporter to help you weigh up the risks if you want.

Now, let's listen to some people talk about how they think about the options and consequences of a decision.

On-screen: Ben

Ben: My parents were a bit nervous when I first moved out because they would miss me and I would miss them.

I did go through a period where I would have a cry because my parents were really attached to me about it, but not so much now.

I don't really miss them, I still think of them but they're only a phone call away.

I think making a Pros and Cons list would really make a good way of making a decision.

On-screen: Madeline

Madeline: So the NDIS plan review meetings are very mentally, physically, emotionally exhausting and you need to be on the ball, because they can throw questions at you that some people with disabilities don't understand, that they don't get. So you really know what you need to be talking about, and you need to be on the ball.

Sometimes before my internal reviews with the NIDS, sometimes me and my support network do role plays, writing on paper, or do a bit of singing.

That's where capacity building comes in place.

You learn how to do things because one day, what about if there is no NIDS funding?

We have to learn skills, how to do things by ourselves.

So capacity building is a good way that you can learn baby steps to achieve what you need to achieve.

On-screen: Brendan

Why I changed my wheelchair is because the physio doesn’t like my posture.

I said to Mum, let's go and look at a wheelchair.

I’ve had this chair for 10 years. This chair is giving me the absolute shits!

On screen: Janice and John

John: Janice had problems getting out of the bath and in the bath. We knew a person, well, I knew a person

that was a handyman, he took out the bath and put...

Janice: We didn't get the bath done next because we were much younger then, but then when I got a bit older then we had a walk-in shower and then they took out the bath.

It was a tough decision on what to do with that, because we wanted to do our bathroom up and that.

And I thought, if I don't pay off the loan quicker, it will take years and years for that loan.

So yeah, I made that decision to put $10,000 towards the house loan and another $10,000 to do our bathroom up.

We write down the Pros and Cons and then we go back and look at it and say, "Which way is the best option to go?"

And yeah, but in the long run it was our decision.

John: Yeah.

Lorraine: Step 3 is thinking about options and consequences.

This means asking yourself some important questions about the decision and weighing up any risks involved.

You can ask a decision supporter to help you do this if you want.

Questions:

• What ways do you weigh up risks when you make decisions?
• Have you ever made an unwise decision?
• If yes, what did you learn from your unwise decision?

On-screen. Logo for Inclusion Australia. Make Decisions Real. Wwww.inclusionaustralia.org.au