An alliance for self determination A platform for our own voice

Dear Welcome to the advocacy Training workshop for people like me. Welcome you to be a part of the promise that we made to ourselves to work for a brighter future for all our people. We will working hard to make our dreams come true. We are making a beginning. We are putting our efforts to prepare ourselves for a role in expressing our dreams, aspirations and needs. We hope to reach out to more people like us. So they dont need to be afraid of to express their opinion. We will share our dream will our fellows throughout the Country starting new groups and keeping our groups going. We have a long-range plan to guide us. We know that in this day and age, we need to look at how we do business. Money is tight and the system is not doing much for people like us. We want to have our own platform. We have made our plan flexible. So that we can meet the ever-changing circumstances our people face. We plan to evaluate our goals and our progress in the light of our experiences. We are excited about the possibilities for people like us in the future. We want our plan to reflect our commitment to work hard through our goals for the benefit of all people. We want to offer our expertise because of who we are and what we do. We stand by the international slogan, Nothing About Us, Without Us. Because we believe so strongly in this, we have added our own phrases: Hear our voice, dont make our choice and We are informed and we are paying attention.

Ultimately we want to be in every committee that has a say on us. On behalf of Parivaar, we welcome all those present here. A special welcome to Our chief guest __________________ and other guests of honour. Thank you. The Self-Advocates of India

HANDBOOK SELF ADVOCACY

FOR SELF ADVOCATES AND MENTORS
PREPARED BY : Mr. VIJAY KANT, CHIEF OPERATIONS MANAGER, PARIVAAR Ms. Sumitra Prasad, Documentary Film Maker & Media Trainer. Supported by: SASI

ADVOCATING CHANGE TOGETHER

Students with learning difficulties often need to be taught the determination skills to be better prepared for life after school. This program of Parivaar in collaboration with NIMH, is designed to promote selfadvocacy and self-awareness skills for persons with intellectual disability. Through multi-component group activities, participants learn about their strengths and weaknesses and how to advocate for their needs and rights. The Advocacy skills Training workshop also include modules for leadership roles, mentoring and personality development activities. Promoting self-determination or teaching participants to take control of their life, is a hallmark of providing full and complete special education services. Self-determination is a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, independent behavior. An understanding of one's strengths and limitations together with a belief in oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination. When acting on the basis of skills and attitudes, individuals have greater ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of

successful adults said authors Field, Martin, Wehmeyer. UNDERSTANDING SELF ADVOCACY:
In this step you will learn:

Miller, Ward, &

What is self-advocacy? Why is self-advocacy important? When is self-advocacy useful? Where is self-advocacy useful? Who can use self-advocacy? How do you self-advocate?
At the end of this section there are a few questions for you to answer. Read over the information then when you think you understand what self-advocacy is and when and how it is useful, try to answer the questions. When you have answered the questions go back and read the chapter to see if you have answered them correctly. Dont worry too much if you get a few answers wrong, you can come back and re-read this chapter whenever you need to.

First, read a small story about Bachan how he learnt about self-advocacy. Bachan went to see Ashok because he had been fighting with his parents about money. Bachan received the Disability Pension every month but he couldnt spend any of the money because his parents were the only ones with access to her bank account. Parents decided what Bachan should spend his money on and wouldnt listen to what Bachan had to say. Bachan didnt want to fight with his parents but he wanted them to listen to him and let him make some decisions for himself. Ashok told Bachan about self-advocacy and said it was a good way to learn to speak-up for himself, get people to listen and make decisions for himself. Ashok told Bachan that just telling somebody about his problem wasnt self-

advocacy but it was a good start. Good self-advocacy was about speaking-up about your thoughts and feelings, asking for what you wanted, working towards solutions and making decisions for oneself. Bachan asked if SASI would teach him to self-advocate and Ashok said yes, he would. What is Self-Advocacy?
Self-advocacy is the ability to speak-up for yourself and the things that are important to you. Self-advocacy means you are able to ask for what you need and want and tell people about your thoughts and feelings. Self-advocacy means you know your rights and responsibilities, you speak-up for your rights, and you are able to make choices and decisions that affect your life. The goal of self-advocacy is for YOU to decide what you want then develop and carry out a plan to help you get it. It does not mean you cant get help if you need or want it, it just means that you are making the choices and you have to be responsible for the choices you make.

Why is Self-Advocacy important?

It is important to learn self-advocacy skills because it helps you decide what you want and what is possible for you to expect. When you have good self-advocacy skills you can have more control and make the life decisions that are best for you. Self-advocacy helps to empower you, to speak-up for yourself and make decisions about your life.

When is Self-Advocacy useful? When you want to be listened to When you are being assessed When you are making a complaint When you are developing or reviewing a care plan Where can you Self-Advocate?
There are many places that you might want to speak-up for yourself or ask for what you want such as:

At home At work At school At the hospital At the doctor At the shops

On the bus And many more places. If you are not happy with the way something is done then it is up to you to help change it. Nobody else knows how you feel or what you think- YOU need to tell people if you are not happy or you want something to change. Who is a Self-Advocate? Someone who says what they think and feel Someone who speaks-up for things they believe in Someone who knows and understands their rights and responsibilities Someone who takes responsibility for their own life Someone who makes decisions that affect their life Someone who helps to improve their life Someone who tries to change the way things are done How do you Self-Advocate? You need to decide what you want to speak-up about You need to plan how you are going to speak-up You need to speak-up for yourself You need the freedom to be able to make basic choices about your life. You need to be given the authority to be the expert on your life; you are the one who has to live your life so you should be able to make decisions which affect you. You need to have support to make and achieve your goals, the final decision should be yours but it is good to have other people to help you. You need to be responsible for your decisions. You need to try to make the best choices and fix those that did not work. You need to believe you are able to do the things in your life that are not working and work towards the things that are important to you.

Learning the Skills of Self-Advocacy

SELF ADVOCACY MODULE

PART -I
Definition Self-advocacy means that we people with developmental disabilities speak up and speak out for our rights. We should have the right to speak up and teach other people like us about our rights. We won't always have someone to look out for us. People need to listen to what we want even though they might not want to. Speaking out can be taking a risk. Sometimes you're afraid that the other person might say no. The purpose of this training is to give ourselves the chance to speak out about our rights and the things we want to see changed. We also want teachers and others who work for us to see that we have a voice of our own. We want the same rights as everyone else.

Nothing more, nothing less.

PART I A
Self-Advocacy is About Having Choices Self-advocacy, or speaking for ourselves, is a big part of living in the community. People like us who live in the community should have the right to make our own decisions, just like anyone else. For example, we should have the choice of who we want to work for us.

The choices we should have are choosing our own friends and having our friends come to see us, going to the Temple or Mosque or church of our choice when you want to go, deciding whether to have a real job instead of working in a sheltered workshop or activity center, and lots of other choices. Sometimes people like us need help making choices, or even knowing what our options are. Parents, teachers and friends can help us learn about choosing.

PART I B
Self-Advocacy Means Having

A Say About our Services SAYS

We can and should have an impact on the services by participating in decision making committees. It's important that we share our ideas because we use some of the services. Many of us have been getting services from agencies all our lives. We know that some services are good because they try to meet our individual needs. We also recognize that some services are bad because they don't integrate people in the community and they don't provide programs to help us become more independent. We can tell agencies what kind of things we need to live and grow in the community. But it's not enough to have just one person on a committee. Other persons with special needs or different experiences should be in the committee, so that providers will know more about our needs? The self-advocacy movement is (in basic terms) about people with disabilities speaking up for ourselves. It means that although a person like us may call upon the support of others, the individual is entitled to be in control of his/her own resources and how they are directed.

It is about having the right to make life decisions without undue influence or control by others. We are often the most powerless members of society. We may live in large institutions or in smaller residences known as group homes which are staff-directed environments where residents have little or no control over their living conditions or with whom they share their living space. We are extremely vulnerable to abuse due to our social and physical isolation. We are eight to ten times more likely to suffer sexual abuse than others in the community. The self-advocacy movement seeks to reduce the isolation and give ourselves the tools and experience to take greater control over our own lives. The self-advocacy movement lags far behind many other civil or human rights efforts, such as those related to race or physical disabilities. This is due to many factors including low literacy and other communication challenges that are a barrier to us. Self-advocacy training is the ability to understand and effectively

communicate one's needs to other individuals. Learning to become an effective self-advocate, especially for those with severe or hidden problems such as dyslexia, is all about educating the people around us.

PART - I C
KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY TO SELF-ADVOCACY Like anything else, the more we know, the better we understand, and the easier it is to explain. This journey of self-education is an ongoing process, as individual needs change over time. There are three parts to becoming an effective self-advocate:

knowing oneself, knowing our needs, and knowing how to get what we need.

LEARNING ABOUT SELF-ADVOCACY All us should have the right to learn to speak for ourselves. It's important because there will be a day when our parents won't be able to speak for us. We can teach each other how to speak for ourselves. Role-playing a variety of problems or situations is a good way to learn self-advocacy.

PART II
Know Yourself Diagnostic testing is the first step towards better understanding your needs. A psycho-educational evaluation is a series of tests used to diagnose specific learning disabilities and to identify individual strengths and weaknesses. Be aware of co-existing disorders (learning disabilities that are found together). For example, a person with dyslexia has roughly a sixty-percent chance of also having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Therefore, it is important to find a psychologist or neuro-psychologist specializing in diagnosing language-based learning disabilities and related disorders. In order to communicate with others you need to understand what tests are used and what and how they measure. A good evaluation should include the following:

aptitude test achievement test test of memory test of phonological processing

The results and recommendations should be clearly stated in a written report and clearly explained in a one-on-one meeting. You should know your skills levels, strengths, and weaknesses. Although some employers may not, all educational institutions require formal documentation of a diagnosed disability before providing services.

PART - II A
Know What You Need After you receive a formal diagnosis, it is important that you know your skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Learn about your disability and how it affects your daily activities, communications, and social interactions. It's important to keep in mind that no learning disability affects two people the same way.

There are three areas worth investigating to determine what you need to improve your skills and/or compensate for your weaknesses: interventions, accommodations, modifications. 1. Interventions (reading, are evidence-based instruction to improve math, comprehension, speech, etc.). skills This spelling,

instruction is multisensory, systematic, and direct with the opportunity for guided practice. Intervention may also include psychological counseling and/or support groups to help you work through the emotional aspects of living with a hidden disability. The goal of intervention is to improve skills and work towards independence. Regardless of age, it is never too late for intervention.

2. Accommodations are tools to help accomplish a goal that do not change the integrity of the task (books on tape, extra time for test, copies of handouts before a meeting, editor, use of a calculator, etc.). Accommodations compensate for disabilities, and vary from person to person based on the type of disability and the degree to which it interferes with daily activities. The ability to use some accommodations is dependent upon intervention. For example, spelling, typically a major difficulty for people with dyslexia, must be mastered at a fifth grade level for a person to use a spell checker independently. Many people with dyslexia benefit from using the spell checker on the computer along with a hand-held spell checker that reads words and provides definitions. When you use these two spell checkers Individuals with a physical handicap who use wheelchairs are entitled to ramps and elevators disabilities. For example, if a person with a learning disability has difficulty reading or writing, voice recognition software on a computer would be an appropriate accommodation. This software allows the person to speak reports and e-mails into the computer, and to hear information off the screen. This accommodation does not change the quality of writing the individual is capable of creating, but assists the person to accomplish the goal. Accommodations are not meant to replace intervention, but to assist with day-to-day tasks. to have "equal access" to buildings. The same is true for individuals with language-based learning

3. Modifications are alterations to assignments that do change the overall task; for example, writing a two-page report instead of a fourpage report. It is important to keep in mind that nearly all employers and most educational institutions (colleges and universities) do not provide modifications. It is important that you understand the differences between interventions, accommodations, and modifications and how they may or may not meet your specific Needs.

PART III Ten steps to become an effective self-advocate:

STEP ONE: To Accept our condition: Before we can advocate for yourself, we have to admit to ourselves that we really do have a learning Problem. We are not dumb. We are not lazy. Wu have probably worked very hard to hide our learning problems (even from ourselves). Now is the time to admit to ourselves that we have some difficulties and may need some help in order to be successful. STEP TWO: Admit our condition to others: We cannot be successful self-advocates if we continue to hide our difficulties from others. Naturally, we ca not expect people to provide appropriate solutions if they don't know about our condition. But it is just as important to be able to admit our difficulties to our friends. When we can really be honest about our learning problems, we will find that we no longer feel so ashamed and embarrassed about our learning difficulties. We will be able to relax a bit more in our workplace or home and spend more energy learning than hiding. STEP THREE: Understand our learning style: Hopefully, we now have a pretty good understanding of how our brain works and how

our processing difficulty interferes with your education. Counselor can offer us some ideas about our learning ability. If the ideas discussed in this course don't make sense, we ask for help in understanding better. Or ask for other ideas about information processing that might "fit" us better. If we don't understand how we learn, we can't ask for solutions that we really need. STEP FOUR Know how "other issues" might interfere with our self-advocacy: We have learned about the common effects of a learning problem including low selfesteem, communication difficulties, and attention problems. Think about how these issues might interfere with our ability to advocate for yourself. Are we too shy and withdrawn to ask for help? Do we get angry and aggressive when embarrassed or frustrated? Are we able to communicate our needs or do we need to ask someone (people, parent, friend) to help us ask for solutions? Are we impulsive and tend to say or do things that we latter regret? As with our learning problem, we need to be open and honest about any other problems before we can be an effective self-advocate. STEP FIVE Know what We need: Do the solutions listed in this training meet all of our possible needs? Which ones do we think will be the most useful for us? Can we think of other ways that would be better? It is not possible to anticipate all of the needs. We will need to very often rethink the problems we face and possibly come up with some ideas of your own. STEP SIX: Knowing our needs in each class: Don't wait until the last year in school or Centre to start thinking about future solutions. Right from the start of each class we should be thinking about how we might be able to learn the material better.

Maybe the people have a style that confuses you. Maybe there are too many distractions in the room. Maybe teacher did not presented clearly. Begin talking with your people as early as possible. STEP SEVEN: Knowing our rights and responsibilities: learn about our legal rights to an appropriate education and appropriate solution to meet our needs. But are we really prepared to argue our rights with a people that may be "reluctant" to provide solutions? Do we know where to turn for support when our needs are not being met? We should remember, solutions are intended to counteract the negative effects of our learning, not just make school easy for us. We should not take advantage of our right by requesting things we do not really "need". STEP EIGHT: Be willing to compromise: Some people will bend over backwards to "accommodate" our special learning needs. Others will be less "flexible". We should be ready to compromise in order to get at least some solution. We may also need to "prove" to other people that we really need help and are not just being "lazy". Maybe make a "deal" or "contract" with a people. If we do this, we should follow-through with everything we have agreed to do. This helps to build trust. STEP NINE: Know where to go for support: Sometimes even an effective self-advocate needs support. Maybe to help with "difficult" people.

Maybe to provide advice when we get "stuck". Or maybe just so we do not feel isolated and alone. Find someone who understands our learning problem and can provide support (or can even advocate for us) when needed. Plan for the future: Many youngsters with learning problem just try to survive one day at a time and don't think too much about long-term goals. But to really advocate for ourselves we need to think about where we want to be in one, two, five, or ten years. What kind of work do we want to do after our education? Do you want to go to college? When we have a very clear plan for the future, we will be better able to see the reason for our education today. "Ok, so now we are ready to advocate for yourselves. Or are you? The hardest part may be yet to come . . . . . . Meeting with people to "negotiate" our needs." Here are a few tips to make that a little easier: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Have a very good idea of what we want and why we want it. Rehearse what we will say......maybe with a friend or parent. Speak clearly. Maintain eye contact (as much as possible). Take your time when talking and ask for time to think if needed Rephrase what you hear to be sure you really understand. Be respectful. Be careful of your body language (do you look or act angry, impatient, etc.?).

9. 10.

Be flexible and ready to compromise. Make it very clear what you are willing to do in return for the accommodation (get assignments done faster, pay more attention in class, improve effort, etc.).

11.

If there is resistance, ask to have a follow up meeting with a support person (case-manager, other people, parent, etc.).

12.

Be very appreciative of any accommodation given (Say, "thank you.")

PART IV COMMUNICATION
Communication: takes practice and can be emotionally draining. It's easy to get caught-up in feelings of guilt that we are asking for "special treatment" or that we do not need an accommodation because we excel in other areas. Having a supportive friend and/or support group to help "coach" us through this process is important to keeping ourselves grounded. In summary, the better we understand our problems, needs, and rights, and the better we can communicate and document this information, the easier self-advocating will become. Self-education, effective communication, and maintaining a support system are our keys to becoming an effective self-advocates.

PART IV A Review Questions:

1. 2.

Why should you tell others about your problem? How would you describe your learning problem to a new person?

3. 4. 5. 6.

What kind of support do you think you will probably need most? What would you do if a person refuses to provide alternative support? Who could you turn to for help and support? What are your plans after school?

PART V
Role of external factors to enhance self Advocacy: TV Radio Press Internet ( Personal one to one session with the delegates)

PART VI
GROUP FORMATION There's more strength in forming a group. One individual speaking out is easily over-looked. If you have a group of people who want the same thing, you have a better chance of people listening. First, we have to find a good place to meet. It should be easy for everyone to get to it. Then we have to make a list of people to be a part of the group. It's OK to start small. We have to let people know about the meeting either by calling them or seeing them at work or where we live. We have to agree on a meeting date and time that would be good for everybody.

When we have your first meeting, we have to be sure that everyone feels comfortable. We should have people introduce themselves and maybe say why they wanted to learn about self-advocacy. We may have to explain about self-advocacy first. If we decide to use the Rights Now! material, you'll have to tell them about the cassettes and pictures about self-advocacy. After the film or slides we can talk about some of the issues, like speaking out, having someone speak for us if we can't speak well, or what it feels like to be labeled.

WHY START A GROUP: 1. People aren't always going to be around to make decisions for us, We have to learn to make our own decisions. 2. We can learn about each other, everyone has different needs. 3. We can work together for new opportunities for our people. 4. We can learn about our rights as a citizen. 5. We can help other people who can't speak. 6. We can have fun by meeting other people. (There will be problem solving issues given to groups and there will be evaluation report done for group performance)

ACTIVITY In your own words answer these questions. Your answers do not need to be perfect; this is just to help you to understand what self-advocacy is.

What is self-advocacy?
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Why is self-advocacy important?

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Where are some places where YOU could self-advocate? List 3 places.
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When would YOU self-advocate? List 3 situations.

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ROLE OF MENTOR:

Mentoring is a win win for everyone.

We welcome you to this pioneering Self-advocacy training workshop for persons with intellectual disability in our country. You are here to be part of the history in the making. Thank you for your time and enthusiasm to be part of the lives of these self-advocates.

Mentoring is helping people help themselves by listening to questions, problems, and concerns of self advocates, brainstorming solutions with them, connecting people to the appropriate resources, and following through to resolution of the issues. Mentors should have deep commitment to fostering self-sufficiency. We believe real change to occur in our society, there needs to be a Self - Advocacy Movement and Parent Groups. The strength of the Self-advocacy Group is attributed to the individualized support each self advocate receives. Through Mentors assistance, answering questions and providing system assistance, we think that self-advocates can have a say in everyday life. Parivaar believes in creating new opportunities and experiences for families and self-advocates for learning. As a first step we are providing training to self advocates at NIMH, Secunderabad. You are all important people and we believe that you are responsible for training the self-advocates to play their rightful role. We wish to integrate this self-advocacy movement as an arm of Parivaar for providing a platform for self-advocate to meet to share information and play a role in the National & Regional Parents Meet. Ultimately Parivaar wishes to establish a nation-wide network of selfadvocates through formation clubs wherever possible.

DOs We View mentors as leaders We wish to provide incentives to mentors

 We wish to offer frequent opportunities for celebration and recognition of mentors and mentees We want to create time-limited partnerships We want to ensure partners have specific goals We empower mentors and mentees to direct the program We ensure Parivaar leaders presence in mentoring activities. Parivaar wishes to provide a coordinating role Providing ongoing support to mentors. Donts

preparation entors to do this extra work as a contribution to the development of adults with intellectual disability.

SELF ADVOCATES FORUM OF INDIA OUR AGENDA:

I. Introduction II. Our Organizational Goals III. Operational Goals and Objectives IV. The National Focus: V. Education VI. Financial Support for SASI:

I. Introduction:
Our Vision for our organization is based on our values: Self-Advocates Society of India (SASI) see a world where all people are equal and treated with dignity and respect. To contribute to this idea, SASI envisages its vision that: 1. We will be the leader for people with intellectual and developmental

disabilities in all parts of India. 1. We will educate ourselves so that we can be clearly understood. 2. We will partner with PARIVAAR our parent organization, state governments and other stakeholders to create a system of supports and services that offers quality of life for people 3. We will educate people in the community about equal respect and understanding. 4. We promise our families and supporters that we are striving for this new way of living our lives with careful thought and planning and confidence in our ability to succeed. We believe in our Values: Fairness, Justice, Friendship, Family, support for Success, satisfaction in oing a good job and recognition, teamwork, community, responsibility and full citizenship

II. Our organizational Goals

Our Self-Advocates Society of India (SASI) organization gives us time to get together to talk about things that are important to us, learn new ideas, make important decisions, listen to others as we make our plans, and be with good friends. It gives us strength in our beliefs because we know other people who have had the same experiences we have had. It keeps us focused so we can make informed decisions that are thoughtful and meaningful. Our Members: SASIs members are adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. We want to live in our homes and towns, not in isolation and separated from friends and families. We would like to become more involved in our community. We have never been asked about our opinion. We are beginning to talk to each other and demonstrate that we do have opinions that count. We are tired of having to ask others for permission for everything we do. We want to explore our options and make decisions for ourselves. We have been told we can live in a residence only if they obey all the rules. We now want to choose where we live and make our own rules. Many of us are excluded from educational opportunities because of the opinion we could not learn. We are now proving we can and do learn when we are given information that fits

our learning styles. We have been told all our lives we could not do things we want to do because we have a disability. Self-Advocates Society of India Pledge of Service: Self-Advocates Society of India pledges to open up a world of opportunity for people with developmental disabilities by educating its members, families and supporters, and the general public on the abilities of people with developmental/intellectual disabilities. Communities will profit from the contributions of hard working citizens. Families will benefit from the inclusion of their loved ones into their communities. People with developmental disabilities will grow, building their self-respect and confidence in their ability to succeed. Self-Advocates society of Indias members will have one objective:

To educate all members to promote mutual respect and understanding of the principles of dignity of the human spirit.
Our Mission: An organization of citizens who speak out and educate for equal rights, respect, and inclusion in the community. Our long-range plan gives us a way to organize our goals and activities so we can achieve the best outcomes. Our Goals: 1. Maintain an effective statewide self-advocacy organization 2. Increase the presence of self-advocacy in Indiana 3. Build and maintain an effective training team 4. Educate all disabilities 5. Build relationships with policy makers and other stakeholders Our Activities:

Training Teams Meetings Outreach : Forming SASI all over India Educational Presentations and Publications Partnerships Desired Outcomes: A unified voice and support for all An educated membership An educated community Self-Advocates in all regions of the country SASI increased capacity to impact public policy for the good of all people about the abilities of people with developmental disabilities.

III. Operational Goals and Objectives

Funding for operational expenses is being provided by Parivaar and its member organizations. SASI realizes it must secure alternative sources for these expenses and others to expand its activities if it is going to realize the outcomes that are so important. We wish to legally register as a society and create a office-bearers. We wish to increase the number of SASI in our Country who will be active in selfadvocacy. New leaders have to emerge to carry on the work of SASI. Goal 1. To create and sustain an effective statewide self-advocacy organization that will benefit all people with developmental disabilities. An effective organization is the foundation that will allow us to realize our vision and achieve our mission. Objective A: Secure a funding that will support SASIs operational expenses. Task 1: Develop a fee scale for SASI presentations, products and services. Task 2: Investigate what funding self-advocacy organizations can avail. Task 3: Investigate sources of funding from national, state and local civic organizations. Task 4: Evaluate activities and progress on a six-month basis throughout the year.

Objective

B:

In

four

years,

secure

strong

leadership

for

SASI.

Task 1: Facilitate the work of the board of directors and their committee members by holding two board-development meetings each year. Task 2: Evaluate activities and progress on a six-month basis throughout the year. Objective C: Each year take stock of SASIs Strategic Plan, evaluate the progress and adjust accordingly.

IV. The National Focus

Goal 1: SASI considers its commitment to each and every person with an intellectual and developmental disability in India to be its most important responsibility. It is because of this commitment that SASI will continue to travel to bring the principles of self-advocacy and self-determination to every region of India. Outreach activities to increase the number and presence of active self-advocates in each region of India. Hold annual convention along with National Parents Meet each year. Have Regional convention along with Regional Parents Meet of Parivaar and make our presence felt. Organize statewide SASIs half-yearly meetings to provide the opportunity for the self-advocates to meet on a regular basis. Goal 2. To increase the presence of self-advocacy and introduce the principles of selfdetermination to all regions of India. Objective A: By end of four year, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu will have an active self-advocacy presence. Task: 1. Where possible, each year, SASI will plan a regional outreach trip to an area of India that does not have an active self-advocacy group. Task 2: Each year, SASI will evaluate its progress and activities on a 6-month basis and adjust accordingly for the maximum desired outcome.

Objective B: SASI will recommend to Parivaar that a column for itself in the Parivaar Newsletter to share its activities and spread its message.

V. EDUCATION
Educating its leaders and membership is an on-going and very necessary element of each years activities for SASI. The education provided not only presents new information to them but also awakens abilities in them that they didnt realize they had. SASI wishes to bring out publications that are informative and effective in promoting the principles of self-advocacy and self-determination. We shall publish a SASI booklet A Community in Common that provides information to all its members. SASI wishes to produce a video, Self-Advocates Society of India Speak Out for a Better Tomorrow, offering insight into what is important to people with developmental disabilities through interviews with self-advocates and staff who support them. Goal 1. To build the capacity of people with developmental disabilities while creating a path for mutual understanding among all citizens. Objective A: By the end of four year period, SASI will have developed the leadership skills of its self-advocate leaders in Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra Tamil Nadu and Goa through continuing education. Task 1: Societys Annaul meeting will be a development meeting will include an educational segment. Task 2: The society will evaluate the methods offered to them to educate themselves and adjust accordingly on a six-month basis. Objective B: By the end of year four, people with learning problems will be educated about their rights and the opportunities for them in their communities. Task 1: Statewide membership meeting will include an educational segment. Task 2: The board will explore other ways they can educate themselves. Task 3: The board will evaluate the methods offered to them to educate them and

periodically review the program. Objective C: By end of year four, the public will have been educated on what it means to have a problem/disability. We are working to open the doors of communication and change age-old stereotypes that have kept us isolated from our communities. Neighbors can learn they dont have to be afraid of a person just because he or she talks or acts differently. Task 1: SASI will explore the best strategies for getting their message out to the public, e.g.: presentations, advertisements, flyers/pamphlets. Task2: SASI will give presentations to at least four audiences. Task 3: SASI will evaluate the effectiveness of their work on a six-month basis in this area. Objective D: To educate parents and supporters to calm their fears and encourage them to See the abilities of their Loved Ones. Task 1: SASI will use the Annual Conference as a starting point for their goal of educating their families and supporters because they will be incorporating the family track again in their conference planning. Task 2: SASI will ask their families to evaluate what the self-advocates have presented to them and suggest ways it can be improved. Task 3: SASIs will train its members to be speakers to address their needs at various forums. Goal 3. To build and sustain an effective training team that will facilitate SASIs goal of increasing the number of presentations it can offer and the increased number of committees it seeks to join. Objective A: By the end of year four, SASI will have trained members in each of the six States of Country (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra Goa and Tamil Nadu) to be able to give presentations in their area. Task 1: Hold public speaking and committee participation practice sessions at each board meeting. Task 2: Match new members of the training team in each presentation given by experienced speakers. Task 3: Evaluate its strategies on a six month basis and adjust accordingly.

Objective B: By the end of year four, SASI will develop presentations on more subjects. Currently, SASI will develop presentations on How to Start a Self-Advocacy Group. Task 1: Choose a topic to develop a presentation on. Task 2: Develop a presentation on the chosen topic. Task 3: Give one presentation on that topic. Task 4: Evaluate its progress on a six-month basis and adjust accordingly.

VI. PARTNERSHIPS:
Establishing SASIs reputation so that it can impact public policy is always on the collective mind of SASI leaders. All of the above goals and activities can be instrumental in developing SASIs reputation as a responsible organization that has a lot to offer. SASI will partner with Parivaar to form partnerships with the Community, agencies, other advocacy groups and looks for partnerships with other organizations. Goal 1. To develop and implement strategies to identify and take advantage of opportunities to impact public policy, build relationships with policymakers and other organizations, and communicate SASIs policy positions effectively. Objective A: By end of year four, SASI will have developed a partnership with another organization. Task 1: SASI will examine what a partnership is, what SASIs contribution can be, and how to approach another organization with a plan that is beneficial to both. Task 2: Investigate a possible connection with the service Clubs. Task3: Investigate possible connections with other organizations. Task 4: Evaluate progress and adjust accordingly. Objective B: By end of year four, SASI will have continued to participate on NPMs, RPMs and other important meetings of Parivaar seeking nomination on the Parivaar Board. SASI will have increased the number of self-advocates participating on these committees at the state level. Task 1: Increase the number of self-advocates participating on committees

Task 2: Increase the number of Committees and Boards of Parivaar Task 3: Use those opportunities to meet state officials and introduce them to SASI. Task 4: Evaluate these strategies every six months and adjust accordingly. VI. Financial Support for SASI: At the moment funding for training and formation of SASI is being provided by Parivaar. SAGI has the opportunity to meet once a year to manage the business of the corporation and work on the goals. Our plan for how we will accomplish our goals is only limited by the funding we are able to obtain. We envision a more ambitious schedule in the future. We know that to spread the word of self-advocacy and self-determination, we must travel to all parts of India. We want to be able to offer support and information to people with developmental disabilities in every town and city in India. We have to consider the development and production costs that will be connected to every publication we plan to create.