Self-determination
is the right of people with disabilities to make choices about
their own lives, to have the same rights and responsibilities
as everyone else, and to speak and advocate for themselves. Find
out more on these web sites.
National
Public Radio takes a look at new efforts to make financial assistance
work better for people with developmental disabilities. Includes
an audio clip of writer/activist Joseph Shapiro's report on one
family's story in U.S. News & World Report, and some
useful links.
Based at
the Oregon Health Sciences University, the Alliance for Self-Determination
is "an association open to organizations and individuals
who have demonstrated the capacity to contribute to research,
dissemination and training in self-determination and the ability
to advance the Alliance's mission at a national, state or regional
level." Its web site includes an overview of self-determination
and information about the Alliance.
"The
Center for Self-Determination is not a place. It is a highly
interactive working collaborative of individuals and organizations
committed to the principles of self-determination. The purpose
of the collaborative is to change the nature of the support and
service system for individuals with disabilities...." The
Center's nicely designed website includes a wide range of articles,
a guide to self-determination sites in each state, events, and
links.
The well-designed
website of a Robert Woods Johnson Foundation project, this site
provides information about self-determination, a variety of discussion
groups, calendar of events, newsletter and links.
On August
2,1991, over 800 self-advocates from across the U.S. and Canada
meet in Nashville for the second North American People First
Conference; S.A.B.E. grew out of that conference. Its web site
includes information about the organization and related links.