Advocacy and Self-Advocacy

• Disability Rights Maine – Maine’s Protection & Advocacy agency that works at the state level to protect individuals with developmental disabilities by empowering them and advocating on their behalf.
• Everyone Has the Right to Make Choices (n.d.) (PDF) – Brochure on supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship from the National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making.
• Guidelines: How to Write about People with Disabilities (2020) (9th edition) (PDF) – A resource from the University of Kansas Research and Training Center on Independent Living (KU RTCIL).
• The HCBS Settings Rule and the Developmental Disabilities Act: UCEDD Tip Sheet (March 2023) (5-page PDF) – Key responsibilities of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) align with the purpose and goals of the Home and Community Based Services Settings (HCBS) Rule which serves to assure that those receiving HCBS “have full access to the benefits of community living and the opportunity to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate.”
• Health Resume (n.d.) (3-page PDF) – Developed by the Ray Graham Association and the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Health Resume is a tool to facilitate communication between the patient and provider.
• Impact: Feature issue on Self Advocacy for People with Intellectual, Developmental, and Other Disabilities (Fall 2020) – Published by the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD), this issue in the Impact series looks at the Self-Advocacy Movement today, at its history and its shared history with the Civil Rights Movement, how people with disabilities are lifting their voices on topics ranging from healthcare rights amid the pandemic to continued ableism and its intersection with racism.
• The LEND Self-Advocacy Discipline Network Presents: Introduction of the LEND Self-Advocacy Discipline Competencies (2022) – Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) archived webinar with handouts. Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) training programs must include individuals with disabilities as Self-Advocate trainees as a distinct discipline alongside graduate students, family members, and community trainees. The purpose of the LEND Self-Advocacy Discipline Competencies is to offer LEND training programs a set of tools to help self-advocate trainees individualize their leadership goals and learning plan during their participation in a LEND training program.
• Maine Developmental Disabilities Council – Maine’s federally funded, self-governing organization charged with identifying the most pressing needs of people with developmental disabilities in the state.
• Maine Parent Federation – MPF provides information, referral, one-on-one telephone support, and training to parents of children with disabilities or special health care needs.
• National Resource Center on Supported Decision-Making – Provides accurate and helpful information, resources, and stories about supported decision making to those who need it.
• Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC) – The mission of SARTAC is to strengthen the self-advocacy movement by supporting self advocacy organizations to grow in diversity and leadership. Funded as a Project of National Significance by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities under the Administration on Disabilities.
• Self Advocacy to Self Determination (2022) (PDF) – Handout produced by Speaking Up for Us of Maine to help educate and guide adults who live with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
• Service Animal Resource Hub – The topic of service animals is complex. The ADA National Network has created this page to help provide some clarity. It is broken up into nine different sections addressing specific issues related to service animals.
• Speaking Up for Us of Maine (SUFU) – Maine’s self-advocacy network for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Steps to Making Informed Choices (2022) (PDF) – Handout produced by Speaking Up for Us of Maine to help educate and guide adults who live with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
• Tuesdays with Liz: Disability Policy for All (YouTube) – A video series highlighting current issues in disability policy. It is hosted by Liz Weintraub, a long-time disability advocate, and produced by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD).
• What do you want to speak about? (2022) (PDF) – Handout produced by Speaking Up for Us of Maine to help educate and guide adults who live with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).