TO STAND BESIDE

THE ADVOCACY FOR INCLUSION
TRAINING MANUAL

Empowering people who support, assist or represent people with intellectual disability.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE CHALLENGE?

For the past two decades we have focused on getting people with intellectual disability out of congregate facilities and into more individualised, community-based services. But the process of community integration - which is about physically relocating people - is only the beginning.

The real challenge is still ahead of us - that of ensuring community inclusion. For many people with intellectual disability that challenge will only be met with the support of staff, parents and friends who are themselves able to grow from being simply workers, carers and instructors to become Champions, Defenders and Allies.

Are you ready for the challenge? Are you an effective advocate on behalf of people with intellectual disability?

		Power Explores the importance of power, rights and value in the lives of people with intellectual disability
		Mission Examines the range of theoretical models which underpin disability rights advocacy
		Vision Challenges advocates to self-analyse the values, beliefs and experiences which shape their personal vision
		Roles Establishes the primary roles of the advocate, as champion, defender and ally
		Skills Identifies the negotiation skills, qualities and attributes of the effective advocate
		Methods Presents a detailed and practical method for pursuing effective advocacy outcomes

PURPOSE

The purpose of To Stand Beside: The Advocacy for Inclusion Training Manual is to support the training and development of effective advocates for people with a disability. The manual is intended to be used in conjunction with advocacy training programs, workshops and seminars.

To Stand Beside is aimed at independent voluntary and paid advocates, and at those who might also have an indirect role in advocating the interests of people with a disability, such as people working in independent living services, social and community welfare agencies, adult training and support services, service brokerage agencies, case management agencies, residential and community support services, schools, etc. It is also aimed at people with a disability and family members who are involved in advocating on behalf of others with a disability, and who are also seeking to improve their effectiveness.

Finally, this manual is aimed at people who might not be currently involved in advocacy, but should be: the people next door, behind the counter, on the streets... This manual assumes that they all should be, as we all should be, actively involved in promoting the inclusion of people with a disability in the life of the community, in defending them against injustice and unfairness, and in sharing their lives as equal human beings and citizens.

However, even though this manual is aimed at everyone, the truth is: This manual is not for everyone. There are many who will find its approach to advocacy too confronting, too demanding, too intense. On the other hand, there are those who will find it too lightweight, too conciliatory, too shallow. That's okay. The purpose of the manual is not to recruit people into advocacy who all think the same, but to provoke discussion and debate amongst people who bring different ideas and beliefs to the challenge of being an effective advocate.

PREPARATION

To Stand Beside: The Advocacy for Inclusion Training Manual is designed to sit alongside The VALID Becoming A Self Advocate Training Program (Shaw & Stone, 1996). This manual will hopefully provide a bridge for accomplished self advocates, who wish to continue in their development, and who wish to advocate on behalf of others with a disability. However, for many people with an intellectual disability, this will only occur with appropriate modifications to this manual.

While the author has attempted to write in plain English as much as possible, there are many concepts which would require further explanation and re-wording, for people with comprehension difficulties.

In addition, this manual assumes that readers will have already developed fundamental self advocacy skills such as ‘making decisions and choices’, ‘respecting the rights of other people’, ‘making complaints’ and ‘developing community networks’. Without effective self advocacy skills, however, people are unlikely to be prepared for the rigours of To Stand Beside: The Advocacy for Inclusion Training Manual.

STRUCTURE

The first five chapters of this manual are intended to be used in a group training situation, to stimulate discussion and debate. The sixth chapter presents an eight-step method to support people through the complex decision-making processes that advocacy often entails. At the conclusion of this chapter, readers/participants are invited to work through a practicum, using The VALID Advocacy Program. This program, which is presented here for training purposes only, is also available from VALID in electronic form. It has been developed by the author in the course of his work with VALID - the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability - and incorporates the eight step method.

FOCUS

The focus of To Stand Beside: The Advocacy for Inclusion Training Manual is primarily upon advocacy for people with an intellectual disability, as this reflects the experience of the program author. Hopefully, however, readers will consider that many of the strategies and issues may be just as relevant to people with other forms of disability.

AUTHOR

This manual reflects the views and experiences of its author, Kevin Stone. Kevin has been an advocate on behalf of people with an intellectual disability and their families for more than twenty years. For the past ten years he has been the Executive Officer of VALID, the advocacy organisation which he helped establish within the state of Victoria. From 1997, he has served as the President of the National Council on Intellectual Disability, Australia’s foremost body representing people with an intellectual disability, their families and service agencies, and the Australian representative of Inclusion International.