Dignity of risk

[7] The concept was first articulated in a 1972 article The dignity of risk and the mentally retarded by Robert Perske: Overprotection may appear on the surface to be kind, but it can be really evil.

An oversupply can smother people emotionally, squeeze the life out of their hopes and expectations, and strip them of their dignity.

Now we must work equally hard to help find the proper amount of risk these people have the right to take.

[8]In 1980, the concept was relied upon by Julian Wolpert, Professor of Geography, Public Affairs, and Urban Planning at Princeton University, to support his argument in a paper, "The Dignity of Risk",[9] which has since been described as "seminal".

[10] Wolpert's argument was that a paternalistic approach to people living with disability, prioritizing safeguarding over the rights of individuals to independent decision-making, is a limitation on personal freedom.

Finding a balance between these competing considerations can be difficult when formulating policies and guidelines for caregiving.

[17] Many people with disabilities are also placed under guardianship, which is when someone else makes decisions about their life, including where they live, how they spend their money, and the health care they receive.

[19] In elderly people, overprotection can result in learned dependency and a decreased ability for self-care:[20] "It is possible to deliver physical care that has positive outcomes and returns a person to full function, yet, if during that care they have not been involved, allowed to make choices and respectfully assisted with activities of daily living, it may be possible to cause psychological damage through undermining that person's dignity.

"[23] Article 12 of the Convention states that states "shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life" and that "shall take all appropriate and effective measures to ensure the equal right of persons with disabilities to own or inherit property, to control their own financial affairs and to have equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit, and shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not arbitrarily deprived of their property.