Charter of Rights

As an adult with a developmental disability and as a consumer of services, I have the right to:

• Be treated as an adult human being
• Be treated in a fair way
• Be treated with respect
• Not be teased, called names or hurt in other ways
• Have friends
• Go out and have fun
• Have someone to love
• Get married
• Have children
• Take care of my own money
• Have control in my home

Laws that protect me
(like the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms)

• Not to be discriminated against for things like being male or female, the country my family comes from, my skin colour, my religious beliefs, who I choose to love or my disability
• Get fair wages
• Get the same things as everybody else who does the same job (for example, coffee AND LUNCH breaks, medical benefits, vacation time and maternity leave)
• Get the same medical services and care as other people

Make informed choices and decisions in my life:

• Make decisions and choices based on my feelings, beliefs and what is important to me
• Be told enough things to help me decide (make an informed choice)
• Take chances (risks) once I know what might happen
• Decide what I do on my own time
• Decide what I do with my own things
• Decide how I plan my future (what goals I set and what I want to talk about when I plan)
• Choose to live on my own or with others
• Decide who comes into my home
• Choose the services I use
• Have choices when I use services, including where I live, who I live with, what I eat, what changes happen in my home, what work I do, when I go to the bathroom, what doctor I go to, what my doctor does to me, and many other things
• Make mistakes
• Change my mind
• Decide to stop using a service
• Choose when I need support

Support

• Get help, if I need it, with things like finding a place to live, making a budget and learning what I need to learn
• Have staff and other supporters (like family and friends) who treat me nice (kind, polite and with respect)
• Have supporters who are helpful
• Not be told off by supporters
• Hear good things, not just bad things from my supporters
• Have enough money from the government to buy the services and support I need
• Get help with making decisions (from my guardian and others) if I need it
• Have a say even if I need help making decisions

Speak for myself and to be listened to

• Speak my mind and give my opinions
• Talk about my rights
• Show my feelings
• Make complaints if I'm not happy
• Say "no"
• Disagree with people
• Have people listen to me when I talk
• Have people try to understand me

Access

• Get services in my community
• Have good special (accessible) transportation, if I need it
• Use seating for people with a disability on regular transportation, if I need it
• Get around easier if I use a wheelchair (for example, ramps, curb cuts)
• Be a part of and have access to a community (things like jobs and recreation)
• Go to school and get the training I need to learn new things

Privacy

• Spend time alone, if I want
• Have people get my OK to go into my locker at work
• Have people knock or get me OK before they go into my room at home
• Use the telephone without someone listening to what I am saying
• Have the choice of going out without telling others where I am going
• Have things my doctor knows about me be kept between us, unless I need help to understand

Safety and Protection

• Feel safe when I use my services
• Feel safe when I am out in the community
• Not to be hurt, attacked or have my things taken from me
• Learn how to take care of myself

Good Services

• Have service providers I can count on
• Be helped when it's my turn in line
• Be given the same service as everyone else
• Ask questions if I need to know more
• Get a different doctor if I want
• Ask another doctor to check what my doctor said (get a second opinion)
• Have doctors and dentists explain to me (not just to my parents, staff and others) why I need to have something done, what it will cost and what will happen if I get it done
• Say "no" to medical care once I know what will happen if I say "no"
• Be treated gently if I get medical care

I also know that everyone else has rights too, so I should:

• Not do other things that take away other people's rights
• Treat other people as I want to be treated
• Be a responsible adult

This Charter of Rights was made by people with developmental disabilities who use services, at the 1994 Opening Doors Conference put on by the Vocational and Rehabilitation Research Institute, 3304-33rd Street, N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2L 2A6.