Explain e-mail web site connection

1. Explain e-mail web site connection Www.did2.org

2. Planning to change Taking control

3. Welcome back... • Do you remember my self-advocacy group? • We are Carlos, Susanne, Lisa, Karen, Christy, our support worker Peter and myself -John

4. What we now know….. • We have learned so much in our self-advocacy group; • About self-advocacy, • About knowing and telling people what we want. • About knowing who has the control.

5. Standing up for myself and others. • Peter was telling us about representatives and how they stand up for not only themselves but for others as well. • He told us that we can represent ourselves as well as other people with learning disabilities.

6. Representation

7. Time to Do

8. Standing up for myself and others…... • We figured out in our group that if we want to stand up for ourselves and others, we need: • understanding • motivation not desire • skill • Do you know what these are?

9. Understanding of……. • What we want changed. • Why we want it changed. • How we change it. • Who do we need to work with. • To help us. • To challenge.

10. What we want changed…... • Be very clear about what you want changed. • A good cause is not enough…..

11. A good cause is not enough... • Prepare • yourself • your appearance • key points • your case • Figure out what minimum outcome is acceptable. • Be clear • Be brief

12. Time to Do

13. Why we want it changed……. • Think about who this will affect • you • others • Think about how this will affect • you • others

14. How we want it changed…….. • You need to have a plan (strategy). • How you will do it? • Where to start? • How long will it take? • Who will help you? • What is the cost? • What are the consequences?

15. Who do we need to work with…. • To help us • who would share our opinion and why? • Local groups • National groups • European groups • other consumer groups • Groups of professional • Listen to these groups to understand where they’re coming from. • Why will they help us ?

16. Who do we need to challenge? • Find out who we need to challenge. • Individuals(families, staff) can stop you from doing what you want. • Groups can stop you from doing what you want. • Officials / Government

17. Why do we need to challenge them? • Find out why they have a different viewpoint - from you • what is on their agenda look? • what are their main arguments? • who can they have a alliance with and why? • how much pressure can they take from public opinion?

18. Time to Do

19. Motivation not Desire • It is not enough just to want to be under the spotlight. • You need to believe in what you are talking about and really want things changed. • You need to be prepared to make sacrifices.

20. Motivation not desire • Not everything comes easily. • Staff cant always fix things for you. • You need to be independent. • Sometimes you need to work really hard for what you want and believe in.

21. Time to Do

22. Skills • Listening • Negotiating • Understanding • Respecting • Communicating • Analysing • Being professional • Making decisions

23. Time to Do

24. Skills • Do you think you have these skills? • How can you learn or improve these skills?

25. Sometimes skills are not enough • Peter tells the self-advocacy group, that many people work on two levels when the make decisions • a rational level • a emotional level

26. The rational level • Can be influenced by • facts • figures • concrete examples • data • neutral suggestions for solutions

27. Emotional level • Can be influenced by • the story • individual cases • making sure your opponent does not lose face

28. Time to Do

29. Now we understand a lot more about how we can change things • We decided to use the skills we had…...

30. My life….. • I decided to plan to change things that I was not happy with; • Staff holding me back when I want to be more independent! • Being told when to go to bed, I’m 26! • Only staff choosing who comes to work in my home.

31. My Plan…... • I went to talk to the head of residential staff and nothing happened. • What do you think I should do?

32. I asked my self advocacy group to add my problem to the group’s agenda. • We discussed it and decided that I needed to change the policies and attitudes of my organisation.

33. What I did • With the help of my group this is what I decided to do. • I got support from other housemates. • We organised a meeting between the manager and the other residents. • We presented the manager with a clear list of the issues that we wanted changed. • More independence. • The right to be involved in hiring staff.

34. What happened…. • The manager listened to us. • He took our issues to the next board meeting where they were discussed by staff. • As a result we are being taught the skills needed to be on an interview panel and also how to become more independent.

35. How has this changed my life……. • I have an active role in choosing who works with me. • I am more confident in speaking up for myself. • I have more independence and am no longer told what time to go to bed. • My housemates and I feel we have more control of what happens in our home.

36. Carlso & Susanne also wanted things changed.. • They have fallen in love and want to live together.

37. Our Plan... • We discussed this in our group and we found out that we have a right to be together and to fall in love. • We felt that in order to support people with learning disabilities in loving relationships, things need to happen……

38. Here is what we did... • We contacted other self-advocates and asked them to come to a meeting about relationships • We asked a representative from a legal group to come to our meeting and explain the current situation

39. Here is what we did... • With the legal representatives we set up a national campaign for our rights and lobbied the government • We failed to change the situation...

40. Here’s what we did then... • We asked the National Association for People with Learning Disabilities to help us to bring our case to the High Court. • It took a long time and effort, but the Court decided that it was not legal to deny us a relationship - we have the same rights as everyone else !

41. Winder but still missing... • We are still looking for somewhere to live together… We have asked our: • social worker • local housing groups

42. What Carlos wants changed... • He would like to have a job. • He would like people to take the time to understand how he communicates.

43. What did Carlos do? • Carlos asked the self-advocacy group for advice on how to get a job

44. Self advocacy group suggest... • We talked about the different types of jobs Carlos might like to do • Peter suggested that Carlos could speak to an employment officer about choosing a job

45. Here’s what he did... • The employment officer talked to Carlos about the different types of jobs he may like and helped find him a job match

46. The employment officer also suggested to; • try different work experiences • do a training course to learn new skills • find out what you are good at and what is available • Learn to use public transport to allow access to jobs

47. Carlos decided to look for training opportunities and jobs in his local job centre as a mechanic

48. Time to Do

49. Self-advocacy group also suggested… • To ask a local politician/MP to come to a self-advocacy group meeting and • explain our concerns about lack of jobs for people with disabilities and lack of unemployment benefit for people with learning disabilities • tell us about how the National Action Plan on Employment which the government must send to the European Commission.

50. Peter helped us to write a letter to our government to let them know how important it is that we are mentioned in the National Action Plan.