From Protection to Power: Advocacy and Supported Decision-Making for More Resillient Futures

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

• Dana LloydFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Georgia Advocacy Office

First Presenter’s Email Address

dlloyd@thegao.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dana Lloyd has been engaged in advocacy with people experiencing injustice on both a personal and professional level for over two decades. Dana currently serves as director of Community Engagement and Outreach at the Georgia Advocacy Office, Georgia’s Protection and Advocacy system, after 3 years as the director Developmental Disabilities program. Dana also leads Georgia’s supported decision-making coalition and is a state team lead for the Administration on Community Living’s Center on Youth Voice Youth Choice, a national youth led Supported Decision-Making Project. Her career began providing direct support to people with disabilities to live full lives in their communities. Before joining the GAO she spent several years working with families combating poverty and homelessness and refugees navigating the resettlement process. She trains other professionals in principles of person centeredness and community building. Dana strives to guide her audience to explore concepts that challenge their assumptions and raise their consciousness.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Westbrook

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Home: Family & Community Engagement

Relevance

This proposal aligns most directly with the Heart strand because it focuses on building strong, supportive relationships that affirm the dignity and autonomy of young people, including those with disabilities. Supported Decision-Making (SDM) is rooted in trust, respect, and connection—it ensures that a young person is listened to, believed, and surrounded by allies who support, rather than replace, their decision-making. By centering the voices of young people, SDM fosters confidence, resilience, and meaningful participation in their communities.

The session also highlights how important it is for young people to hold valued roles—such as student, friend, leader, or employee. When young people with disabilities are supported to make decisions and step into roles that their peers value, they are more likely to experience dignity, inclusion, and resilience.

By equipping educators, families, and advocates with tools like the I-DECIDE Georgia framework, the proposal strengthens Head (helping professionals understand new approaches to inclusion) and Home (empowering families to support their child’s autonomy and decision-making at home and in the community).

Ultimately, this session helps participants learn how to move beyond protecting or limiting youth by equipping them as decision-makers and community members—which is at the heart of youth advocacy and resilience.

Brief Program Description

Young people with disabilities are too often pushed toward dependence, guardianship, and “special” programs that limit their opportunities to take on meaningful roles. This presentation will show how Supported Decision-Making (SDM) can change that story by offering youth with disabilities real choices, strong supports, and valued roles in school, work, and community life.

Drawing from the work of I-DECIDE Georgia, participants will be introduced to a six-step framework (Direct, Enlist, Choose, Inform, Determine, Experience) that equips individuals with disabilities to make decisions and direct their own lives. This process builds resilience by honoring the dignity and autonomy of each person, while also engaging families, educators, and peers as allies rather than surrogates.

The session will also illustrate how access to valued social roles, like classmate, employee, friend, and neighbor protect youth from marginalization and enhances belonging. Participants will explore how these strategies and SDM tools can work together to support autonomy while reducing reliance on restrictive practices like guardianship.

Through real-life examples, stories from youth, and practical tools, participants will learn how to bring these ideas into their schools, programs, and communities. They will leave with clear steps to create environments where young people, including those with disabilities, are engaged to be decision-makers and respected citizens, not passive recipients of services.

Summary

Young people with disabilities are often denied opportunities to make decisions, develop independence, and take on valued roles in their schools and communities. Too frequently, they are placed under guardianship or shuttles into “special” programs that diminish self-determination and autonomy. This session introduces a practical alternative: the use of Supported Decision-Making (SDM) as a tools for building resillience, dignity, and belonging.

Participants will learn the I-DECIDE Georgia framework, a six-step model (Direct, Enlist, Choose, Inform, Determine, Experience) that provides clear strategies for supporting young people to make decisions about their own lives. This model is designed for use by educators, families, and community partners and is adaptable to both school and home environments. It emphasizes collaboration—youth directing decisions, families and allies providing support, and professionals creating space for autonomy—so that young people can experience real choice and responsibility.

The session will also show how access to valued social roles (such as student, employee, teammate, or leader) helps protect youth from marginalization and fosters resilience. Practical methods will be shared to shift youth from being passive recipients of services to becoming active members who belong and are included in their communities.

Through interactive activities, case examples, and ready-to-use tools (including an app and online learning platform), participants will leave with concrete strategies to:

• Introduce SDM practices in schools and community programs;

• Equip families to support autonomy at home;

• Apply techniquies that expand valued opportunities for youth;

• Replace restrictive approaches with supportive ones that build confidence and resilience.

This presentation offers ready to use practices that empower young people with disabilities to grow as decision-makers, strengthen their social-emotional development, and thrive in meaningful community roles.

Evidence

The studies and resources below illustrate the effectiveness of SDM as a proven, rights-affirming alternative to guardianship and that access to valued social roles consistently improves outcomes. When combined, these approaches equip educators, families, and advocates with tested, practical strategies that strengthen resilience and autonomy in young people with disabilities.

References

Georgia Advocacy Office, & Center for Public Representation. (2018). Georgia supported decision-making pilot project. Georgia Advocacy Office. https://supporteddecisions.org/supported-decision-making-pilots/georgia-supported-decison-making-pilot/

I DECIDE Georgia. (2023). I DECIDE Georgia: Supported decision-making resources. https://idecidega.org

Kohn, N. A., Blumenthal, J. A., & Campbell, A. T. (2013). Supported decision-making: A viable alternative to guardianship? Penn State Law Review, 117(4), 1111–1157. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2229877

Lemay, R. (2006). Social role valorization insights into the social integration conundrum. [excerpted], 44(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1352/0047-6765(2006)44[1:SRVIIT]2.0.CO;2

Murray, C., & Pianta, R. C. (2007). The importance of teacher–student relationships for adolescents with high incidence disabilities. Theory Into Practice, 46(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840701232943

National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making. (2019). Supported decision-making pilot projects. Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities. http://www.supporteddecisionmaking.org

National Council on Disability. (2018a). Beyond guardianship: Toward alternatives that promote greater self-determination for people with disabilities. National Council on Disability. https://www.ncd.gov/report/beyond-guardianship-toward-alternatives-that-promote-greater-self-determination-for-people-with-disabilities/

National Council on Disability. (2018b). Supported decision-making: Report to the President and Congress. National Council on Disability. https://www.ncd.gov/sites/default/files/NCD_SupportedDecisionMaking_508_0.pdf

National Council on Disability. (2019). Turning rights into reality: How guardianship and alternatives impact the autonomy of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. National Council on Disability. https://www.ncd.gov/report/turning-rights-into-reality-how-guardianship-and-alternatives-impact-the-autonomy-of-people-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities/

Race, D. (2007). Social role valorization and the English experience. London, UK: Whiting & Birch.

Salzman, L. (2010). Rethinking guardianship (again): Substituted decision-making as a violation of the integration mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Cardozo Law Review, 81(1), 157–208. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1556822

Shogren, K. A., Wehmeyer, M. L., Palmer, S. B., Rifenbark, G. G., & Little, T. D. (2015). Self-determination and positive adult outcomes: A longitudinal study of youth with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 81(1), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402915598780

Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01067.x

Wolfensberger, W. (1998). A brief introduction to social role valorization: A high-order concept for addressing the plight of societally devalued people, and for structuring human services. Syracuse, NY: Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership & Change Agentry.

SRV International. (2024). Social Role Valorization resources. http://www.srvip.org

Learning Objective 1

Apply the I-DECIDE Georgia framework in school or community settings to help youth with disabilities take on meaningful and valued roles.

Learning Objective 2

Identify strategies to replace restrictive practices (such as unnecessary guardianship) with supports that promote autonomy and inclusion.

Learning Objective 3

Describe how Supported Decision-Making and attaining valued roles positively impacts youth advocacy and resilience.

Keyword Descriptors

Supported Decision-Making (SDM), Family, Education, Valued Roles, Leadership Equipping, Belonging, Alternatives to Guardianship, Self-Determination, Advocacy, Disability, Resilience

Presentation Year

2026

Start Date

3-2-2026 1:00 PM

End Date

3-2-2026 2:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Lloyd, Dana, "From Protection to Power: Advocacy and Supported Decision-Making for More Resillient Futures" (2026). National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference. 15.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2026/2026/15