Development of the Supported Decision Making Inventory System.
Use the three SDMIS inventories to assess personal factors, environmental demands, and autonomy levels when planning supported decision making for adults with IDD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built three short checklists called the SDMIS. Adults with intellectual disability tried the forms and gave feedback. The checklists look at the person’s skills, the help they need, and the choices they make every day.
What they found
The first users said the forms were clear and felt respected while filling them out. The authors now have a ready-to-use pack for planning supported decision making.
How this fits with other research
Li et al. (2024) also made a new scale for parents of people with IDD. Both papers show the field is moving past old proxy-only tools.
Hume et al. (2018) asked teens, parents, and teachers to rate the same skills and found big gaps. The SDMIS keeps that multi-view idea but focuses on choice, not school skills.
Jackson et al. (2025) built a PTSD screener for adults with mild ID. Like the SDMIS, it puts the adult’s own voice first and warns that proxy forms can miss the mark.
Why it matters
You now have free, tested forms that let your adult clients speak for themselves. Use the three inventories during assessment to see where the person is strong, where support is needed, and how much autonomy they want. The tool keeps you compliant with self-advocacy standards and gives clear data for the ISP meeting.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Supported decision making has received increased attention as an alternative to guardianship and a means to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to exercise their right to legal capacity. Assessments are needed that can used by people with disabilities and their systems of supports to identify and plan for needed supports to enable decision making. This article describes the steps taken to develop such an assessment tool, the Supported Decision Making Inventory System (SDMIS), and initial feedback received from self-advocates with intellectual disability. The three sections of the SDMIS (Supported Decision Making Personal Factors Inventory, Supported Decision Making Environmental Demands Inventory, and Decision Making Autonomy Inventory) are described and implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-55.6.432