Otto’s Story

Otto’s loved ones trust and respect him to make his own decisions. He shares:  

 “Just like everybody else in society, I research my options and I ask questions. I am naturally inquisitive, maybe a little paranoid. I did spend a decade without functional communication, and was misdiagnosed as intellectually disabled. I was not presumed competent and was not given agency or autonomy. Now that I have a robust system of communication, I tend to grill people for all the answers. I ask my parents, I ask the experts (doctors, educators, bankers, and accountants). Supported decision making is part of my life every day. I live an interdependent life and the simplest things such as meal prep to the big things like applying to college are completed in a collaborative way. I explained I did not want to be conserved. Everything in my life was geared towards independence and critical thinking skills. I did not want irrational parental fears of harm to me standing in the way of my civil rights and my freedom to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We cannot let the fear of failure come between us and our right to make our own decisions. If things do not turn out the way we thought they should, we cannot get stuck on the idea of mistakes. Let’s instead reframe results as unforeseen outcomes. That way it takes the binary ideology of right or wrong, good, or bad, out of the equation. When unforeseen outcomes happen, we regroup, we adjust, we adapt, we pivot. We make different choices, and the most important thing is we retain the right to choose.”