A Real Life--A Real Community: The Empowerment and Full Participation of People with an Intellectual Disability in Their Community

Autor/in	Martin, Robert
Titel	A Real Life--A Real Community: The Empowerment and Full Participation of People with an Intellectual Disability in Their Community
Quelle	In: Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 31 (2006) 2, S.125-127 (3 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1366-8250
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Special Education; Mental Retardation; Empowerment; Inclusive Schools; Citizen Participation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Special needs education; Sonderpädagogik; Sonderschulwesen; Geistige Behinderung; Inclusive school; Integrative Schule; 'Citizen participation; Citizens'' participation'; Bürgerbeteiligung
Abstract	This article written by a man with an intellectual disability, describes his experiences living with the label, "intellectually handicapped". Institutionalized at an early age, he relates the loneliness, isolation, and homesickness he experienced, and learned to accept. At the age of 7 he was placed in foster care, and forced to work as an adult. As a teenager, placed in a mental hospital full of adults, he says that he often thought of committing suicide. People with intellectual disabilities have often been devalued, disadvantaged, and treated like eternal children. They are placed in separate schools, not included in discussions of laws that affect them, and often have decisions made for them. Robert Martin shares his personal struggles, successes, and his vision for an inclusive community where all citizens can be valued as unique individuals. People with disabilities are learning to become their own advocates. They are empowering themselves, and envisioning a community that will open its doors, and welcome them as individuals with rights that are respected and protected as they are for others. These disabled citizens want to live in a community that is willing to provide the necessary support for those whose disability means they need help to live with dignity and respect. The intellectually disabled, ask to live in a community where special laws that are there to protect their rights are not then used to discriminate against them, and where Guardianship laws are not used to take away their right to decide where, and with whom they want to live as adults. They wish to be citizens of a community that encourages them to learn about decision making, and to take responsibility for their own decisions. A slogan increasingly heard from people with a disability is: "Nothing about us without us." (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940. Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10