Family Advocacy

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.

Just imagination

This article has two important points: firstly it provides a firm argument for why it is so necessary for family members, people with disabilities, friends/advocates to have dreams and visions for themselves or for the person they know.

Beauty quests - a double disservice

This article is primarily concerned with the societal attitudes towards women that provide criteria for what it means to be a real woman; women are told that beauty is equivalent to success. The epitome of the enforcement of these criteria are beauty quests.

Every Mohawk is a horseback rider

Using the example of a camp in which a number of young people have disabilities and at which all people take part in all activities, the author talks about the need for a transition in all services so that all people are characterised according to their abilities and where people...

Us and Them? Feminist research, community care and disability

Morris, a woman with physical disabilities, critiques the feminist analysis of women as carers of people with disabilities. Morris argues that such women, in positing the alternative of residential care, are maintaining an able bodied subjectivity in their approach to this issue.

Normalisation, community care and the politics of difference

A rather academic article, but useful for its analysis of why difference cannot be tolerated in a capitalist structure.

We work with families in NSW to defend and promote the rights and interests of people with developmental disability

Search Results

Accentuate the positive

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

Disabled woman jailed due to failure of state , say parents

Social value

Promoting social value

Just imagination

Beauty quests - a double disservice

Every Mohawk is a horseback rider

Us and Them? Feminist research, community care and disability

Normalisation, community care and the politics of difference