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Supporting self-advocacy
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Self-advocates are people with intellectual disabilities who speak up for themselves about the things that are important to them.
Self-advocacy is about:
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understanding your own rights and the rights of other people with intellectual disabilities
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coming together in groups and giving one another peer support
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sharing experiences and learning from one another
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building confidence and power
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taking action by holding organisations and governments accountable
A person must be supported to understand the responsibilities of being a self-advocate and representing others.
Not all people with intellectual disabilities are (or want to be) self-advocates.
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An inclusive organisation will support self-advocacy.
This may be by providing time and space for people to develop their self-advocacy skills, or by employing self-advocacy organisations to support their work.
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Organisations should give self-advocates opportunities to speak up. This shows that an organisation values the opinions of self-advocates.
For example;
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in your activities, like projects
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in decision making in your organisation
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in campaigns or advocacy
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in communications, like sharing experiences though social media posts
4
Connecting with self-advocacy groups can be difficult depending on where you are.
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Family or service provider organisations often support self-advocacy groups and can help you connect.
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Be aware that sometimes organisations talk about their "self-advocacy work" but this work is more about social and leisure activities, not about rights. For example, some organisations call their exercise or drama groups "self-advocacy".
Self-advocacy groups often grow out of social groups. But people with intellectual disabilities taking part in these groups may not have had a chance to learn about their rights or understand about representing others.
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Self-advocacy is not about what organisations think!
Organisations that work closely with self-advocacy groups, provide funding or opportunities must understand that self-advocacy is about what people with intellectual disabilities think, not what the organisation thinks.
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Remember that if you are including self-advocates in your work, you must support them and make sure they can fully take part.
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To understand how to do this well, review the guidelines sections for different areas of your work and listen to what self-advocates say they need from you.
