Think About... Norman and Pat

Did Norman or Pat have capacity to make their own decisions?

Yes. In their interviews they did appear to be able to reason and make their own decisions, although their decisions were not always healthy ones. Norman stated that he understood that he could get beaten up again if he returned home. Pat described having trouble thinking at times when her husband was abusing her, but when staying at the shelter Pat seemed to be able to think clearly, understand her choices and the consequences of those choices.

• How would you have responded to these cases? Pause here for a moment ad think about what you would have done.
• Would you have reported to APS? In both cases this would be the correct response.