§ 1750-a. Guardianship of persons who are developmentally disabled

1. When it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that a person
is a person who is developmentally disabled, the court is authorized to
appoint a guardian of the person or of the property or of both if such
appointment of a guardian or guardians is in the best interest of the
person who is developmentally disabled. Such appointments shall be made
pursuant to the provisions of this article, provided however that the
provisions of section seventeen hundred fifty of this article shall not
apply to the appointment of a guardian or guardians of a person who is
developmentally disabled. For the purposes of this article, a person who
is developmentally disabled is a person who has been certified by one
licensed physician and one licensed psychologist, or by two licensed
physicians at least one of whom is familiar with or has professional
knowledge in the care and treatment of persons with developmental
disabilities, having qualifications to make such certification, as
having an impaired ability to understand and appreciate the nature and
consequences of decisions which result in such person being incapable of
managing himself or herself and/or his or her affairs by reason of
developmental disability and that such condition is permanent in nature
or likely to continue indefinitely, and whose disability:

(a) is attributable to cerebral palsy, epilepsy, neurological
impairment, autism or traumatic head injury;

(b) is attributable to any other condition of a person found to be
closely related to intellectual disability because such condition
results in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or
adaptive behavior to that of persons with intellectual disabilities; or

(c) is attributable to dyslexia resulting from a disability described
in subdivision one or two of this section or from intellectual
disability; and

(d) originates before such person attains age twenty-two, provided,
however, that no such age of origination shall apply for the purposes of
this article to a person with traumatic head injury.

2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the
purposes of subdivision two of section seventeen hundred fifty and
section seventeen hundred fifty-b of this article, "a person who is
intellectually disabled and his or her guardian" shall also mean a
person and his or her guardian appointed pursuant to this section;
provided that such person has been certified by the physicians and/or
psychologists, specified in subdivision one of this section, as (i)
having an intellectual disability, or (ii) having a developmental
disability, as defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, which
(A) includes intellectual disability, or (B) results in a similar
impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior so
that such person is incapable of managing himself or herself, and/or his
or her affairs by reason of such developmental disability.