3 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 R. J. Stancliffe et al. (eds.), Choice, Preference, and Disability, Positive Psychology and Disability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35683-5_1 Choice Availability and People with Intellectual Disability Roger J. Stancliffe This chapter begins with a refection on the range of reasons why choice is impor- tant. Defnitions of choice are considered next, including examination of common misunderstandings of choice. Next, I describe and analyse major assessments of choice availability, with attention to assessment involving self-reported choice ver- sus choices reported by proxies. This section is followed by an examination of the major research fndings concerning choice availability for adults with intellectual disability. This chapter also engages with the under-researched topic of choice within various types of relationships. Implementing choices with and without sup- port is considered in the context of the implicit tension between autonomy-as- independence and autonomy-as-volition (see chapter “The Development of Choice-Making and Implications for Promoting Choice and Autonomy for Children and Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”). This chapter con- cludes with a brief examination of ‘what works’: interventions that purport to enhance choice availability. A number of the issues canvassed are examined in more detail in other chapters of the book, so where appropriate, reference is made to the relevant chapters. Why Is Choice Important? There are multiple reasons why choice is particularly important for and to people with intellectual disability. First, people with disabilities themselves have stated repeatedly that they want to control their own lives (Miller, Cooper, Cook, & Petch, 2008). As New Zealand self-advocate Robert Martin put it, ‘We want to live in a community that encourages us to learn about decision-making and to take R. J. Stancliffe (*) Centre for Disability Research and Policy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia e-mail: roger.stancliffe@sydney.edu.au