– Self-advocates work to have choice in control in their lives, and for all people with intellectual disabilities. – Self-advocates work for human rights and equality. They make positive changes in their communities, states, and in the country. – Self-advocates are always learning and educating others. – Self-advocates have opportunities to develop their leadership skills….
History: – The self-advocacy movement started with a conference in Sweden in 1968, and then a conference in the U.S. in 1974. – The self-advocacy movement started because many people with intellectual disabilities were segregated in institutions. If they did not live in institutions, they still had very little choice and control in their lives….
A 29-minute documentary on individuals with developmental disabilities across New York state who have used individualized supports in taking greater control of their lives. Traditionally, funding for people with disabilities has gone directly to agencies that provide support services. Now individuals have the opportunity to control their budgets and choose the services they want and…
SELF-ADVOCACY is… working to confront the ABLEISM in society. ABLEISM is… practices and attitudes that devalue and discriminate against people with disabilities. Examples of ABLEISM include: – Inaccessibility: picture of house with stairs vs. picture of house with ramp – Language: “That’s so retarded!” vs. “That’s so… – Stereotypes Presuming incompetence vs. Presuming competence
We asked self-advocates an important question: “What does self-advocacy mean to you?” They shared answers like:
In this part of the toolkit, we will share things like: how self-advocacy started how it may be used to make life better how to get involved
Self-advocates from across the world tell us what self-advocacy means to them. From www.selfadvocacyonline.org at the Research and Training Center on Community Living, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota.
Taking control of my life my might mean: Making decisions about where I live and who I live with Making decisions about support services and support staff Making decisions about my daily schedule and routines Making decisions about social relationships Making decisions about my healthcare And many more… Some ways of taking control are: manage…