ERIC Number: ED442225
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 35
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
My House Is Covered with Papers! Reflections on a Generation of Active Citizenship. Community Supported Living Series.
O'Brien, Connie Lyle; O'Brien, John
This booklet highlights some of the insights that five mothers of children with developmental disabilities have gained after a generation of working together to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities in Wisconsin. It discusses civic activism, the critical importance of organized parent support, difficulties in collaborating with professionals, and social changes that affect the conditions for volunteer action. Lessons learned include: (1) parents with very different visions for their own sons and daughters can find common ground and work together for important changes; (2) victories can have unexpected consequences; (3) broader coalitions increase political clout, but once legislation is passed and appropriations are made, there will be many questions to settle about how the benefits are divided; (4) insiders in the system can and will be a help when common issues are discovered; (5) what took years to gain can be lost at the stroke of a pen; (6) ask for help and relinquish control when necessary in the interest of attaining what seems to be important; and (7) families need to be involved in finding solutions to problems, not only in identifying problems. (CR)
Descriptors: Change Agents, Change Strategies, Child Advocacy, Citizen Participation, Developmental Disabilities, Family Involvement, Lobbying, Mothers, Parent Associations, Volunteers
Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities, P.O. Box 7851, Madison, WI 53707-7851. Tel: 608-266-7826; e-mail: wiswcdd@dhfs.state.wi.us. For full text: http://soeweb.syr.edu/thechp.
Publication Type: Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Inst. on Community Integration.; Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Research and Training Center on Community Living.; Administration on Developmental Disabilities (DHHS), Washington, DC.; National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Responsive Systems Associates, Lithonia, GA.; Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities, Madison.; Syracuse Univ., NY. Center on Human Policy.
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A