Know your Individual Rights

Daily Life and Employment - What a person does as part of everyday life - school, employment, volunteering, communication, routines, and life skills.

You have the right to have privacy, to spend time alone, and to talk to who you want to privately.
You have the right to spend your money how you want.
You have the right to be able to see current news and media.
You have the right to have a job and make money.
You have the right to open and send your own mail.

You have the right to choose the goals that will lead to the kind of life you want for yourself.
You can choose what you want in your life, such as who your friends are, where you are employed, where you live, and who you want to live with you.

You have the right to access and participate fully in the community - to join groups and activities that you choose.
You have the right to build healthy personal relationships with whom you want - to be friends with both men and women.
You have the right to have freedom to practice and participate in religious activities of your choice.

You have the right to receive medical and health services when you need to and as soon as you need to.
If you choose to be involved in a research project or study, you have the right to know the details of the project and to understand the ethics to be enforced.

You have the right to be free from all forms of abuse and neglect including financial exploitation; to be free from people hurting you, yelling at you, saying hurtful things, or restricting your movement.
You have the right to an investigation and a timely resolution of any alleged infringement of your rights.
You have the right to see and review information about you in a way you understand.
You have the right to confidentiality of information.

You have the right to receive, or not receive, your services. You are free to discontinue your services at any time you choose.
You have the right to develop your own Individualized Support Plan (ISP) with the help of persons you choose and to review it regularly to see how you are doing.
You have the right to make choices about the services and supports you receive and who provides them.
You have the right to ask to make a change in your plan, in your medications, in the agency and people who work with you, your doctor, nurse, or service coordinator.
You have the right to receive quality services. If you are not satisfied with a service or feel you have not been treated fairly, you have the right to make a complaint.
You have the right to be treated with respect, and be free of humiliation and abuse at all times.
You have the right to receive information in a timely manner.
You have the right to have rules and policies in an accessible format and explained to you in a way you can understand.
You have the right to know who pays for the services you receive and how much it costs.
You have the right to receive more than one service within the funding guidelines.

For a downloadable version of your Individual Rights, click here.