What is self-advocacy? It is so many things!

It's about people with intellectual disabilities
showing the world what they can do!

Why is the self-advocacy movement needed? Because people with intellectual disabilities are not yet living as fully included and contributing members of society. For example, many (if not most) people with intellectual disabilities...

Thankfully - although it is taking far too long - things are getting better. Most importantly, people with intellectual disabilities are taking greater control of their own lives, and that in turn is having an impact on the world around them!

Many people with intellectual disabilities are now managing their own bank accounts, renting or buying their own homes, taking on meaningful positions as volunteers or employees, developing friendships and romantic relationships, and more. At LiveWorkPlay this is something we work hard to support every day - in everything we say and everything we do.

LiveWorkPlay did not invent the self-advocacy movement (it was around for many decades before we existed) but we have fully embraced its principles and are trying our best to live it. As you can see from many of the video presentations available from this website, self-advocates at LiveWorkPlay are demonstrating that self-advocacy is making a difference in their lives.

In order for these changes to take place, the support of family members and other trusted members of the individual's personal network are critical. Since adopting a clear self-advocacy mandate, many parents involved with LiveWorkPlay have recognized the need for shifts in power within the family unit as a critical means of supporting people with intellectual disabilities to take greater control of their own lives.

Basic changes like eliminating the "family taxi" (thus promoting greater travel freedom through the use of public transportation) often snowball into other areas - making and going to appointments, personal finance, self-care, shopping - the list is as endless as the complexities of life itself. To help sort through these issues LiveWorkPlay hosts annual events including the Family Conference and Visioning Day.

Families are definitely our most important partners in the self-advocacy movement, but there are lots of other key contributors, including government, the private sector, granting agencies, and other non-profit organizations. The list is too long to go into here, but please visit the supporters section of our website to learn more.

* Disphobia is a word that we first heard from David Hingsburger, who is many things but can be described as a disability rights activist, author, and speaker. His work has made and continues to make a very important contribution to the development of LiveWorkPlay. Google him if you want to check him out, he's got a great blog.

The idea of disphobia is that we have words to describe acts and attitudes of hatred or prejudice against various groups (e.g. racism, homophobic, misogynist) but there is no similar term for negative beliefs and actions held or taken against people with disabilities. As a very rough definition, a "disphobic" person is one who thinks or acts in certain ways towards people with disabilities just because they have a disability.

This can take countless forms, from fighting to keep a person with a disability from living on the same street, to bullying and teasing in the schoolyard, to the (well-intentioned but ignorant) touching of a stranger with a disability in a way that you would not touch a non-disabled stranger.

So, fight disphobia. Get informed. Listen. And speak up when you see and hear disphobic activity around you.