Financial autonomy
- Viviana McAllister
- Feb 3
- 2 min read
As an Occupational Therapist, we have a role to play in evaluating and rehabilitating instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). What are IADLs? These are tasks that enable us to live independently, such as home management tasks like cooking, cleaning, doing groceries, and shopping. It is also our ability to cope with decision-making in our financial affairs. This is a key area of independence that can change if our cognitive abilities are affected by an accident, mental health issues, or chronic disease.
When we become adults, many people have to learn different concepts of financial management on their own. Doing so can improve our confidence in decision-making. Normally, we rely on individuals within our social circles and family to guide us on what has worked for them. It remains our responsibility to seek out professional guidance. While an OT can assist with basic skills, they cannot take the place of a financial advisors or become educated about individual financial situations.
Occupational Therapists can have a role in detecting abuses of power over individuals in vulnerable circumstances. Many OTs work with those who have the Power of Attorney over their loved ones, our clients. It is important to see how that individual with power over our client's finances is using their authority. Are their judgments in the best interest of our client? We may not get all the information we need, but our suspicions could play a role in how that client progresses and how much independence they regain.
I have witnessed what I felt were abuses of the role of POA in both care and financial decisions. The issues we witness are usually the tip of the iceberg. There are ways we can address abuses. In retirement homes, we have the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority that can investigate whether residents are being affected by abuse. You may witness someone making decisions on the client's behalf without having any legal authority to do so. This could be a sign of human trafficking. Individuals who have difficulty managing their financial affairs are vulnerable. Working with a social worker to help ensure the client's basic transactions are handled is crucial. They can also help with risk assessments regarding harm.
Not all individuals can manage their financial affairs alone. But some may aspire to do so, despite having others make decisions on their behalf. It is important to listen to that goal and pursue it, because financial autonomy has a huge impact on well-being. Financial abuse can also be criminal. It may require reporting fraud. The prevalence of online fraud is increasing (see Stats Can article, https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/7905-how-much-fraud-affecting-canadians-and-canadian-businesses). Help your clients develop situational awareness so that if they are not currently managing their finances, they can be enabled to develop a capacity for oversight.
Never forget that coercive controllers often use finances to dictate how vulnerable individuals behave. We, as health care professionals, also need to have excellent situational awareness to ensure that our clients exercise their rights and authority over their affairs, according to their capacity.
Report harm:
In retirement homes:
Elder abuse:
Human trafficking:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/free-legal-support-survivors-human-trafficking
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