Self advocacy

Self advocacy is about people with intellectual disabilities:

  • Speaking up for themselves
  • Making their own decisions

What do self advocates:

  • They speak up for themselves
  • They speak up for others
  • They ask for support when they need it
  • They make sure they have a say in decisions that affect them
  • They ask questions and learn new skills

People can support self advocates by:

  • Using information that makes sense to the self advocate
  • Making sure that self advocates get to have a say
  • Involve them in decisions and listen to what they have to say
  • Give self advocates time to make decisions
  • Understand that it’s okay for self advocates to make mistakes and support them to learn from them