No matter where you live, the laws give people with developmental disabilities personal rights. You have the right to:

• services in the least restrictive environment and which protect personal liberty;
• dignity, privacy, and humane care;
• participate in public education;
• prompt medical care;
• religious freedom;
• social interaction and participation in the community;
• physical exercise and recreation;
• be free from harm, unnecessary restraint, isolation, abuse, neglect, hazardous procedures, and excessive medication;
• make choices about where and with whom to live and about relationships and how to spend one’s time;
• prompt investigation of any abuse;
• wear one’s own clothes and have their own possessions and money;
• access private storage space;
• see visitors every day;
• access telephones to make and receive calls and to send and receive unopened letters;
• refuse behavior modification techniques that cause pain or trauma;
• advocacy services;
• freedom from discrimination;
• question treatment decisions; and
• file complaints^[1]Sections 4502, 4502.1 and 4503; Title 17 Cal. Code Regs. sections 50510 and 50540.