Understanding Health Care Legal Directives for Your Child
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2011/04/15 - Updated: 2025/06/10
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Disability Education - Academic Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This information outlines the importance of health care legal directives for children, especially those with disabilities or chronic health conditions. It explains the types of directives available - such as living wills, health care proxies, and durable powers of attorney for health care - and how these documents ensure that a child's medical preferences and best interests are respected if they become unable to communicate their wishes. The article is helpful because it clarifies complex legal terms and processes in accessible language, making it easier for parents, guardians, and caregivers to understand their options and responsibilities. This guidance is particularly useful for families of children with disabilities or ongoing medical needs, as it helps them proactively safeguard their child's rights and well-being in medical decision-making situations - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
High school graduation ceremonies are typically called "commencement" for a good reason. Life goes on after high school. The pomp and circumstances marks an end, but also a beginning. High school graduation is a good time for parents to encourage their children to get a health care directive in place.
Main Content
A transitional moment like this involves more than just putting on a nice reception. It is a good time for parents to review the status of their graduates' health care arrangements. This starts with making sure there is coverage under an appropriate insurance policy. But you should also realize that, once your child turns 18, you will not have the same ability to direct his or her medical care decisions unless you plan ahead.
Contingency Planning
A health care directive is a legal document that gives authority to another person or persons to make health care decisions in the event of incapacity or disability. If your 18-year-old child is in a serious accident, for example, a health care directive would allow you to make medical care decisions on your child's behalf.
This clarification of decision making authority is especially crucial in the tense, emergency situations that can follow a serious accident. Key decisions about how aggressively to treat the injuries must often be made quickly. Uncertainty about who is allowed to make these decisions can only hurt when time is of the essence.
Recognizing how important it is for parents to be able to help their children in these circumstances, New Jersey recently created a voluntary next-of-kin registry to assist with parental notification about accidents involving their children. It is known as Sara's Law, after a 19-year-old woman named Sara Dubinin who was badly injured after her car hit a tree in 2007.
By the time emergency personnel were able to locate Sara's parents - an hour and a half later - she had fallen into a coma. She died the next day.
What a Health Care Directive Does
If your child gets into a serious accident or comes down with a sudden illness, be prepared. A health care directive that lists you as the designated decision maker would enable you to make appropriate decisions on his or her behalf in these exigent circumstances.
Without such a directive, however, responding to an emergency becomes more difficult. Medical providers do have certain limited abilities to provide life-sustaining care. But it is far better to clarify the lines of decision making in advance, just in case it's needed later.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The critical need for health care legal directives cannot be overstated, especially for families of children with disabilities who face unique medical and legal challenges. This article shines a light on the proactive steps parents can take to safeguard their child's well-being, urging a blend of foresight and compassion. By demystifying legal tools and encouraging open dialogue with professionals, it underscores a universal truth: planning today can protect tomorrow. For families, caregivers, and advocates, this serves as both a practical roadmap and a call to action, ensuring that every child's health care needs are met with dignity and precision, no matter the circumstances. It underscores that planning ahead isn't just prudent; it's deeply practical and inclusive, especially for those navigating disability, aging, or transitions into adulthood - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.