Self-advocacy of people with intellectual disabilities – theoretical and practical perspective

Abstract

The first part of the article focuses on defining the concept of self-advocacy. The analysis of available sources shows that self-advocacy is treated as a step towards human self-determination, and its components include self-knowledge, knowledge of one's own rights, and the development of communication and leadership competences (Test et al., 2005). Next, the history of the development of the movement of self-advocates of people with intellectual disabilities in the world and in Poland is presented, indicating that the sources – regardless of the country – lie in the activities of non-governmental organizations associating parents, guardians and friends of people with disabilities. At the end of the article, an example of volunteer activity of APS students for the development of self-advocacy of adults with intellectual disability is described.