Many people with developmental disability live under low expectations and limited opportunities that prevent the development of valued social roles within the community.
Their days may be empty or full of programs and activities that keep them busy but are of no real interest to them and serve little purpose.
Family Advocacy’s aim is that all adults with developmental disability have lives that are rich with valued adult roles that reflect their interests, and have opportunities for personal growth and development, lifelong learning, employment, relationship building and supported living.
After School, What Then?
A typical and normative life pathway in Australian society is to move from school into further learning or employment. Visit our webpage Employment & volunteering to look at how you could support your family member with disability to pursue their interests and strengths to form a work or volunteering type role in their life. Further learning can take place in colleges, Tafes, Universities, community colleges and the many groups and classes that are run every day in the local communities where we live, allowing Australians to continue to learn new skills, find new hobbies and pursue interests. It is through these interests and endeavours that we all build our lives with roles that are meaningful to us as unique individuals.
In this video you can hear from Bruce Uditsky & Anne Hughson talk about why post-secondary education is valuable to people with intellectual disability.
Also read Inclusive Postsecondary Education - An evidence-based moral imperative written by Uditsky & Hughson for the Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities.