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Self Determination & Self Advocacy In additional to the information below, Imagine Enterprises has a new website, www.selfdetermined.org, devoted only to Self-Determination. Self-Advocacy and Self-Determination Self-advocacy is speaking for oneself. Self-Advocacy Why is self-advocacy important? Because people are more likely to get things they want in their lives and “push” the system if they:
As young adults become strong self-advocates, they learn to maintain their principles, dignity and faith without compromise. Their values are strong and they have the ability to act on their own behalf. Self-Determination Why is self-determination important? Because freedom is the basis of our democracy. It is not just for some of the people. It is for everyone. Most people trying to develop personal power and/or self-determination go through the same natural process-whether or not they have a disability. Self-determination is:
The Five Principles
of Self-Determination: History of Self-Advocacy The seeds of the self-advocacy movement can be traced back as far as 1968, when a Swedish parents’ organization held a meeting for people with developmental disabilities. The people at the meeting spoke out about the changes they wanted in the programs that were run by their parents. During the next five years similar meetings took place in England and in Canada. A small group of people from Oregon went to one of those conferences, but they felt that professionals dominated it. They started planning to have a conference in Oregon that would be run by people with disabilities. The People First movement began in Oregon on January 8, 1974, at a conference-planning meeting. At the meeting one man talked about being labeled “ mentally retarded” and said, “I want to be known as a person first!” “ People First” was chosen as the name for the convention, which was held in October 1974. Self-advocacy groups sprang up all over the United Sates, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden, during the next 10 years. In 1984 the first International Self-Advocacy Leadership Conference was held in Tacoma Washington. In the US, the self-advocacy movement continues to grow. In many states, local groups have come together and formed statewide organizations that have boards of directors (most or all of whom have disabilities) and employees (who may or may not have disabilities) that carry out the wishes of the self-advocates who are the members.
Person-Centered Planning Person-centered planning is a tool that helps people describe who they are, what they want and what they need. For a person with a disability, a person-centered plan answers the questions: How do you want to live your life? What supports do you need to realize that life? Person-centered planning presumes that:
Person-centered planning is different because it:
A person-centered plan should reflect what is important to the person, detail what actually happens in the support he or she gets, clearly describe the roles and responsibilities of people who will be involved in supporting and be easy to read and user-friendly. Person-centered planning is conversation and information gathering:
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Self-Determination
is a journey of developing skills and abilities to be in control
over one’s own circumstances. Self-determined people are their
own advocates.|
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 Check out our sister website, Self Determination for Texas Guiding Principles: |
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