‘We Were More Radical back then: Victoria's First Self-Advocacy Organisation for People with Intellectual Disability

Abstract

This article is concerned with exploring the historical development of Reinforce, the oldest self-advocacy organisation for people with intellectual disability in Victoria. In particular, it considers how governmental indifference, as well as ad hoc funding and support, has hindered the growth of the organisation and, more generally, the growth of the self-advocacy movement in Victoria. By obtaining a deeper understanding of the input from the policy makers, professionals, and supporters working in the field of intellectual disability, we can begin to comprehend some of the reasons for the comparatively slow development of self-advocacy in this country.