Search Results » Family Advocacy

Sexual abuse and intellectual disability: Creating a context for change

In an extremely forthright article, Horsley asks the rhetorical questions "How has violence remained so acceptable and so entrenched in the lives of most disabled people?" and "Why has the legal system and government services continued to fail people with disabilities?".

If only I'd known

This is an excellent story by an older parent. She talks about what she and her partner went through 20 or more years ago when they first discovered their child had a disability. It was quite different to what happens now.

Demystifying special education for regular class teachers

A useful article for teachers or for parents who have approached their local school about the inclusion of their son or daughter and the principal and/or teachers are arguing that they don't have the appropriate skills.

How parents can help children develop friendships

11 ways in which parents can encourage natural relationships to develop between their son or daughter and other children in the neighbourhood or school.

Accentuate the positive

These authors have conducted research on people with learning difficulties with an emphasis on getting people's personal stories.

A personal interpretation of the mental retardation scene in light of the 'signs of the times'

"The world is going to hell in a wheelbarrow, and this is not going to do retarded people any good" (the author's own, concise abstract). Wolf Wolfensberger (Coordinator, Training Institute for Human Services, Syracuse University.

Disabled woman jailed due to failure of state , say parents

This article is reprinted from The Age newspaper in Melbourne. It is the story of a woman with an intellectual disability who was remanded in custody (ie. prison) for at least three months after being charged with assault, but without actually being convicted of this or nay other crime.

Social value

This is a brief and easy to read summary of social role valorisation. The article moves through three stages. The first is a definition of 'social value' - when the characteristics identified in someone else are judged to be important, useful and lead to acceptance.

Promoting social value

Darcy Elks, a parent and a leader around social role valorisation theory, conducted workshops for families around Australia in 1994.

Hey Joe

This inspirational piece is about so many things: it is about inclusion, it is about friendship, it is about a professional who is thoughtful, passionate and committed, it is about community development, it is about an individual man and it is about powerful strategies which support the social value of...