‘<i>Even a Self-Advocate Needs to Buy Milk</i>’ – Economic Barriers to Self-Advocacy in the Autism and Intellectual Disability Movement

Abstract

Autistic people and people with an intellectual disability have been actively involved in disability advocacy; however, it is still often parents and professionals who lead organisations speaking on their behalf. Previous studies have found that autistic self-advocates and self-advocates with an intellectual disability have been systematically marginalised in the disability movement. This article appraises how economic factors influence self-advocates' position within the disability movement, based on qualitative analysis of data collected in two countries, the UK and Hungary. The study found that lack of resources, poverty and unpaid positions at organisations strongly hinder self-advocates' participation in advocacy/disability rights organisations speaking for them. Findings also suggest that practices of disability organisations may contribute to maintaining these barriers.

Young Disabled People’s Fluctuating Activism: Challenging the Perfect Standard of Activist

“…According to Thomas, barriers to doing are material, and barriers to being are attitudinal barriers disabled people encounter in society. Although lack of material resources is a major determinant for one's activism and advocacy (Petri, Beadle-Brown & Bradshaw 2021), cultural understandings of what makes a 'proper' activist can pose a real attitudinal barrier when they are based on able-bodied assumptions and ideals. While it is important to acknowledge the lack of material resources preventing young people from doing activism and advocacy, ignoring young people's relevant themes, topics and tactics through which they wish to do activism can be equally disengaging.…”

Steppingstones in larger struggles. How can we combine colliding struggles in the care crisis?

“…Between 1990-2019, six disability organizations -ÉCSJE, ÉFOÉSZ, Hand in Hand, HSSZ, Lépjünk, and MEOSZ 3 - took a leadership role in the fight for the caregiver benefit reform, and altogether, more than 60 organizations were involved to a lesser or greater extent. The story also underscores the fact (true for many disability movements) that the leadership role of people with autism, intellectual disabilities, or multiple severe disabilities has been very limited (Petri, Beadle-Brown, andBradshaw 2021a, Petri 2021). This prevents the movement from launching complementary campaigns organized by various constituencies.…”

A fogyatékosügyi mozgalom részvétele a szakpolitikákban 1998 óta Magyarországon

“…A pénzügyi forrásokon múlik, hogy a szervezetek mennyi forrást tudnak szakpolitikai munkára, például szakértők, kampányok költségeire fordítani (4. táblázat). A finanszírozás jelentősége a fogyatékosügyi mozgalomban kevéssé kutatott (Petri et al 2021), azonban a civil szervezetek finanszírozására vonatkozó kérdéseket a visszacsúszó demokráciákban kiemelten tárgyalja a szakirodalom (például , mert a pénzügyi "csapok" elzárása a kormányok egyik gyakran használt eszköze kritikus hangok korlátozására és baráti hangok felerősítésére. A változó politikai környezet maga is arra készteti a civil szervezeteket, hogy változtassanak a finanszírozási stratégiákon (Gerő et al 2023).…”