Workshop series offers leadership skills to adults with developmental disabilities
By Elisabeth Andrews, Published May 25, 2007
How do people learn to make choices? What does it take to make a good decision? The process is more complex than it seems, said Jennie Todd, whose annual series of workshops for adults with developmental disabilities is devoted to addressing such questions.
“The idea of making choices starts with having enough experience and information to draw from so that you know what your options are. Additionally, you need to know what your rights are and have an understanding that with those rights come responsibilities. You also need to feel confident that you can make those individual choices and have them respected,” she said. Todd, a Research Associate with the Center on Aging and Community at IU’s Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, said these learning experiences are often not typical for people with developmental disabilities.
“If you live in a group home and work in a sheltered work environment, you don’t get a lot of opportunities to just go explore a variety of things life has to offer,” she said. “I worked in an agency that provided day services for adults with disabilities and I know we had the best intentions, but you can get lost in the day-to-day and forget to encourage that exploration unless you make it a focused effort. We often assume that given the opportunity, people do speak up and ask for what they want, but this not always true for people with developmental disabilities.”
The Building Leadership Series, consisting of three two-day workshops, offers such opportunities to 20 individuals with disabilities from across Indiana. Through presentations, discussions and interactive activities, participants develop skills involved in identifying and communicating their desires and preferences. For many participants, these skills build toward greater independence and community leadership.
“We explore choice options such as where a person may want to work or live, who — if anyone — they may want as a roommate, and what they can do to demonstrate they can handle the responsibilities of those choices. With a job, that might mean having a plan for developing or learning the skills the job requires, or with getting an apartment, it might mean focusing on helping the person make their case to persuade the family or support staff that they can make it work.” Todd said.
“As a component of choice making, we discuss laws, rules, rights and responsibilities, and we talk about human rights versus agency rules,” she said. “Sometimes agency rules do not honor the rights of adults with disabilities, for example, limiting access to the phone until chores are completed. We talk about how to best handle such situations. On the other hand, some participants assume that having their own home is their right and we help sort out the responsibilities that home ownership entails.”
Last year, upon completion of the series, each participant identified a personal goal that they wished to achieve in six months, such as making a presentation about what they learned, speaking up and advocating for themselves and others, moving into an apartment, or participating in a new activity, Todd said.
“What people bring back home is a much stronger voice,” she said. “We hope they will be more active and speak up on their own behalf. So far, the feedback from participants has been that they are speaking up more, seeing a brighter future, making new friends, and participating in community activities. That is something we really hope will come out of the workshop – community involvement.”
The Leadership Series is still taking applications for 2007. The workshops will take place on Sept. 26-27, Oct. 17-18 and Nov. 7-8. The series is open to any adult with a developmental disability who can attend all three workshops along with the staff or family support needed. Selected participants receive a stipend, meals and overnight lodging. Support staff, where needed, will also receive compensation, meals and lodging.
For more information, contact Todd at 812-855-6508 or go to the Building Leadership Series web site: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cac/training/buildingleadershipseries07.htm
