My Choice Matters, the NSW Consumer Development Fund, is an initiative of the New South Wales Government

Making Choices was made by:
My Choice Matters
Level 2, 418 A Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 www.mychoicematters.org.au info@mychoicematters.org.au
1800 144 653 or (02) 9211 2605
/mychoicematters
@mcmnsw
This workbook was made by Barbel Winter, futures Upfront, email: barbel.winter@futuresupfront.com.au
© futures Upfront and NSW Council for Intellectual Disability
March 2014
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This workbook is for people with disability and their families.
You can use this workbook:
 by yourself
 with a friend, family member or support worker
 with a group of people
 You can ring My Choice Matters on 1800 144 653 and we will send you a copy.
 You can download and print it.
 You can download the workbook and work through it on your screen or with your screen reader.
There are 2 parts to this workbook:
Part 1: Making choices
Part 2: Things that can stop you making good choices
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This workbook is for people with disability and their families.
It is to help you to think about the choices you make and some things that can stop you making good choices.
This workbook talks about:
 types of choices
 things that can stop you making good choices
 ideas to help you make good choices
At the end of this workbook you will find links to more information that could be useful.
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Making good choices is a skill so it is something we can all get better at. In this workbook we focus on some steps you can work through so that you can feel good about your choices.
Making choices is something we do all the time. Most of us make some choices without thinking about them much. We also make some other choices after a lot of thinking. Most people make some bad choices and some good choices.
Some of your choices are small things like:
 whether you will eat cereal or toast for breakfast
 whether you will drink from a big glass or a small glass
 which movie you want to see or
Some of your choices are about big things like:
 where you want to live
 who you want to live with
 whether you want to study
 whether you want someone to be your boyfriend or girlfriend
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Some of your choices are about saying yes or no to what someone asks you.
Someone could ask you to go somewhere. Like someone could ask you to go to the shops. You can say yes or no.
Someone could ask you to do something. Like someone could ask you to help them do some gardening. You can say yes or no.
Sometimes you will need to choose between lots of options. Like at the shops when you need to choose which milk you want to buy. Or when you move from home and need to choose which house to rent.
If you can watch videos on the internet you can watch Casey and Reece discuss making choices and decisions. The video is good for young people.
You can click on
Casey and Reece
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Did watching Casey and Reece give you any ideas about choices?
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
1.
3.
2.
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What choices have you made today? Pick 3 choices you have made.
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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Here are some ideas to get you started.
 I decided to wear my blue t-shirt.
 I decided to catch the bus to work at 8 am so that I would be early.
 I decided to buy a birthday card for my sister.
 I decided that I would study design at TAFE.
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The drawing below sets out 5 steps you can take when you make choices.
Step1: Think about what you need to decide. Is it a problem? Is it a new idea to think about? Is something happening that you are unhappy about?
Step 2: Think about things you could do to solve the problem.
Step 3: Choose 1 thing from the list of things you could do.
Step 4: Consider how you will do the 1 thing you chose from your list.
Then take action.
Step 5: Think about what happened when you made a choice and acted. Are you happy with the outcome? s the problem?
1
What do you need to decide?
5
Think about what happened
2
What could you do?
4
Do the thing you chose take action
3
Choose
1 thing you could do
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We will now go through the 5 steps so you can practice making a choice.
Step 1: Think about what you need to decide.
Think about one big choice you need to make.
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Here is an example of a big decision.
I need to decide whether to keep doing my job or whether I should do a different job. I am thinking about getting a different job because I want to save money to go on a holiday to
New Zealand.
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Step 2: Think about things you could do to solve the problem.
Think about 3 things you could do to solve the problem you wrote in step 1.
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
2.
1.
3.
Here are some examples of possible things you could do if you were thinking about whether to keep your job or change jobs.
 You could spend less money.
 You could start studying so you could get more skills.
 You could talk to your boss about doing new things at work so you get more skills. With more skills from work or study you could earn more money.
 You could get another part time job as well as the job you have so you can save more money to go on holiday to New Zealand.
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Step 3: Choose 1 thing from the list of things you could do.
Look at the list of things you could do that you made in step 2.
Choose 1 thing you could do that you think is the best choice.
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Here is an example. If you were thinking about whether to keep your job or change jobs you could choose to get another part time job as well as your current job. That could be a fast way that you could save more money to go on holiday to New Zealand.
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Step 4: Consider how you will do the 1 thing you chose from your list. Then take action.
Think about what action you will take.
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Here is an example. If you were thinking of getting a part time job you could ask people what part time jobs there are near where you live.
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Step 5: Think about what happened when you made a choice and acted. Think about whether you are happy with the outcome.
What are some good questions you can ask yourself about how things are going?
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Here is an example. If you decided to find out about part time jobs near where you live, you could:
 after 1 month - see whether you found a job
 ask yourself whether you are now making enough money to go to
New Zealand.
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There are lots of things that can stop you making good choices.
You could miss something because:
 you were told to pay attention to something else
 you focused on something specific
 you thought you knew the answer already
 you shut down some of your senses
 you were thinking about something else
 you were looking for a particular answer
All of those things could make it harder to tell what is going on and make it harder for you to make good choices.
Here is an example of this.
If you can watch videos on the internet click on
Test your awareness
There are subtitles available but they are not good quality.
If you do not have access to the internet you can read the script on page 16.
The script describes what is on the video.
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There is a black screen then there are 8 basketball players. 4 are in
The voice over says
This is an awareness test. How many passes does the team in white make?
The teams are playing and passing the balls to each other.
Note: Most people watching this will focus on counting how many times the ball has been passed by the team in white.
The picture stops
The voice over says
The answer is 13, but, did you see the moonwalking bear?
The film starts again at the beginning
Note: Most people can now see a person dressed up as a bear walking right through the middle of the playing field.
There is a black screen with text saying:
It’s easy to miss something you’re not looking for.
END
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Most of us have had an experience when we did not notice something
Think about a time when you did not notice something important.
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Here are some examples.
 I was watching the game of football so I did not notice the bus leaving.
 I was watching TV so I did not notice the iron burning my shirt.
 I was in the garden so I did not hear my sister knocking on the front door.
 I thought I knew how to use the machine so I did not listen to the instructions.
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Another thing that can stop us making good choices is that we are used to thinking in a certain way. We have thinking habits.
Are there times when you have made choices based on what you have thought before?
Maybe you have made a choice:
 about something you have done a lot of times or
 about people you have spent lots of time with and know well?
Maybe you always think that something will go wrong if you try something new so you do not try?
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Is there a time when you made a choice based on what you thought before?
Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Sometimes it is good to remember what you think about something. It can make choices easier. Like thinking that:
 cars in Australia drive on the left side of the road
 my friend is always on time so I need to be ready for her to pick me up on time
 I can trust my Mum to look out for my best interests
Other thinking habits may not be helpful, like:
 I always have a boring time when I go over to my
Aunt’s place
 I always make the wrong choice in a restaurant
 I cannot make good decisions about who I want to be friends with
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Knowing when thinking habits are useful and when they are not will happen as you learn more about how you think and how you get your opinions.
If you give attention to why you make choices and your thinking habits this will help you make choices because:
 you willI get a better understanding of an issue
 you will notice more things that you could think about
 you will have more chances to think in new ways
Here are some final tips for practising to make good decisions:
 focus on what is happening
 ask yourself questions about why something is the way it is
 think about the fact that there may be things you do not know
 try to think about the issue in more than1 way
 talk to someone else about what they think
 take time when you make a big decision
 if you are very sure about something, ask yourself why
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What did you learn from this workbook?
Write or draw it in the box below.
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What 2 things will you do?
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Write or draw it in the box below.
2.
When will you do your 2 things?
Write or draw it in the box below.
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Are there are other things you want to learn about that are not in this workbook?
Write or draw it in the box below.
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Below is some information you may be interested in looking up.
Making choices
Decision Making Techniques – how to make better decisions - This is a website with lots of ways you can work on making good choices
Things that can stop you making good choices
How to improve your personal awareness – This is an article about knowing more about yourself
Get to know your inner self with daily self awareness exercises – This is an article that suggests getting to know yourself can help you to make decisions and take responsibility for your decisions
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