Publication

It’s My Life! Decision-making for children and young people with disabilities in Ireland and Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

de Bhailís, Clíona
Citation
Abstract
Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) affirms that persons with disabilities have the right to make decisions on an equal basis with others. To achieve this, States Parties have a number of obligations, including to provide access to support to make decisions and provide for appropriate safeguards based on the rights, will and preferences of the person. How these obligations apply to children and young people with disabilities and what Article 12 means for their right to participate in decisions with legal consequences is not well understood. Mostscholarship on legal capacity does little to address this gap as it predominately relates to adults with disabilities. In recognition of this, this thesis seeks to answer the core research question: ‘How can the will and preferences of children and young people with disabilities be respected in line with Article 12 of the CRPD?’. In doing so it adopted a hybrid methodology combining disability human rights research methods and children’s rights methods. Surveys were used to gather data from young people with a wide range of disabilities, aged 15 – 20 years, in Ireland. These findings were then presented to a focus group of professionals and parents. Two overarching themes were identified from the research findings as the main factors which influence the opportunities young people with disabilities have to participate in decisions and to have their will and preferences respected – Relationships and Attitudes and Support and Reasonable Accommodation. The findings indicate that young people with disabilities’ participation in decision-making in Ireland is often sporadic and reliant on supportive adults. To more fully realise the rights of children and young people with disabilities the thesis identifies changes which are required in national law and policy. It also proposes a new model to discover the will and preferences of children with disabilities, which can be used to ascertain a child’s views in accordance with international human rights obligations.
Funder
Publisher
NUI Galway
Publisher DOI
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IE