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Many people with disabilities that affect their communication rely on people they trust

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to support them in various situations.  The type of support we provide can vary depending

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on the situation.  Some people with unclear speech might ask for my assistance

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in explaining what they are trying to say to other people, but in no way are they assigning me authority

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or power of attorney over their affairs.  Recently I was asked by

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a woman with Cerebral Palsy to help her open up a RDSP account.  We met at my office and we

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called the bank together, and I explained that I was assisting with communication.  The bank, however,

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assigned me power of attorney without letting us know.  For a time they would not let her deposit

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money into her account without my authorization.  This was incredibly frustrating

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for her, and it took us quite a bit of time to sort it out.  It really highlighted, for me,

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the importance of understanding the roles and responsibilities that a support

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person has, so that we can avoid this type of confusion.