Supporting Capacity Assessment

People are presumed to have the capacity to make decisions about their personal lives. It is only when there are grounds to question capacity that a functional assessment of capacity should be considered. With the enactment of the  Assisted Decision Making (Capacity Act (ADMA) 2015  in 2023, the assessment of capacity has moved to a functional approach, with capacity being determined for specific matters, within a specific time frame, as opposed to it being an all or nothing situation. The guiding principles are centred around supporting decision-making and maximising a person’s capacity to make decisions.

Often, opinions regarding a person’s capabilities are made based on how they communicate. Therefore, a person with a communication difficulty may be at a disadvantage if their capacity has been called into question. My role in relation to functional capacity assessments includes:

• Involvement in the functional capacity assessment itself
• Training of functional capacity assessors
• Supporting the person with a communication difficulty to maximise their autonomy in decision making.