PART VI:
COMMUNICATION

Communication in self-advocacy can be used for many things:

• Keeping group members informed of meetings, events, and other activities.
• Keeping members aware of important issues
• Recruiting new members
• Sharing ideas with other self-advocacy groups
• Getting in touch with organizations in your community
• Getting other people in the community to become aware of self-advocacy issues
• Getting legislators or politicians involved in and aware of self-advocacy issues

Ways to keep group members informed:

• Welcoming: Welcome new members, introduce new members, and encourage people to socialize after and outside of meetings.
• Attendance sheet: When people come to meetings have them write down their name, address, phone number, and email. At each meeting members can check in and officers can identify who comes to meetings.
• Mailing and phone list: From the attendance sheet a mailing list can be developed. All members should get a copy of this list. Officers can send reminders about meetings and events to all members. Members can also call each other outside of meetings.
• Email listservs: Members can have a listserv or group email set up. Those members who use the internet can post announcements or discussions on the listserv. If self-advocates and advisors do not know how to set this up, they may be able to find someone in the community to help.
• Websites: Many self-advocacy groups have a website. Weekly minutes, meeting times, and events can be posted on the website. This helps keep members aware of what is happening. It is also a good tool to let other people know about your self-advocacy group.

Spreading the Word: Newsletters

Newsletters are important because:

• A newsletter is like a newspaper or magazine.
• Members of the group can help each other write stories and put together the newsletter.
• Newsletters help keep everyone in the group in touch.
• Newsletters can be distributed to share your ideas with other self-advocates or organizations.
• Newsletters also let you keep in touch with friends and supporters of your group.

Some topics that go in newsletters:

• A report of what the group has done
• A calendar or details about upcoming events
• Information about self-advocacy
• Information about issues affecting people with disabilities
• Personal stories of how group members have used self-advocacy in their lives.

Other tips about newsletters:

• At first your group may write a newsletter several times a year. As you get better at making them you may want to develop them more often
• Try to deliver or mail your newsletter to many people who may be interested in self-advocacy.
• Use pictures and simple words in the newsletter.
• Find someone to help edit, or look over the newsletter before you send it out.

Spreading the Word: Public Speaking

Public speaking is going out to talk to groups of people at:

• Meetings
• Workshops
• Conferences
• Schools
• Agencies
• The community

Sometimes you will be invited to speak to:

• Other self-advocacy groups
• Other people with disabilities
• Staff who work in services
• Staff in hospitals

Public speaking is important because:

• It can help spread the news about self-advocacy
• It can encourage other people with disabilities to set up their own groups
• It can help people understand what self-advocacy is
• It tells people that even if you are labeled with a disability, you can speak for yourself
• It can help people see disability in new ways
• It can help people understand want you think about traditional services

Tips For Successful Public Speaking

Public speaking can be scary at first. If you are prepared and practice you will be successful.

• Make sure you know the date and time of the presentation. Make sure you plan ahead for transportation and any supports you may need.
• Make sure you are comfortable with the topic that you are speaking about. If you are not comfortable with a topic then maybe you can suggest something you are more comfortable with.
• Know your audience. Who will you be speaking to? Will it be people with disabilities? Parents? Staff? Students? You may address different areas for different audiences.
• How long will you be speaking? You will want to know how long you have in order to prepare your speech.
• Plan your speech ahead of time. Know what your topic is. Write your speech; if you need help writing it then ask another self-advocate or an advisor.
• Bring notes, you can have notes with you which have key words or even drawings to remind you what you are saying.
• Practice your speech: You can use a tape recorder and play it back, or you can practice with friends.
• You may have to answer questions from the audience. Think about what kinds of questions you may be asked ahead of time.

Adapted from: Learning about Self-Advocacy, Booklet 4: What's Next?

Spreading the Word: Planning a Conference

What is a conference? A conference is different than an ordinary group meeting because:

• It lasts longer, often for one or two whole days
• There are more people at a conference
• Usually there are a lot of visitors besides people you know.

Why have a conference? Conferences can be important to self-advocates because:

• You want to tell more people about your self-advocacy group
• You want people to know what you are doing for people with disabilities in your area
• You are worried about a problem and want to do something about it
• You want to learn more and share what you learned about a particular topic
• You want to encourage more people to join your group

Make sure you think about why you want to organize a conference before you start.
Planning a conference takes a lot of time, so make sure you plan ahead.

Tips for Organizing your Conference

• Decide how long you want your conference to be: A half a day, a whole day, several days?
• Choose a date that is as far ahead as possible. The longer the conference the more time you will need to organize it. Pick a time when you think many people will come.
• Choose a good location. Think about how many people will come? will people need to stay over? is it accessible? can you afford it?
• Think about what you want to talk about at your conference. You may want to invite speakers, plan workshops, show videos, have question and answer sessions, and set up information tables.
• Think about how much money the conference will cost. You will probably want to serve refreshments, and you will also need to pay for speakers, interpreters, and rental space. You don’t want to lose money, but you want to make it affordable so people will come.
• You will want to publicize your conference. Some ideas are: posters, sending out announcements, putting announcements in the media, and telling friends.
• Make sure you decide on what jobs have to be done. Split up the jobs between group members. You may even want to have another group help you plan your conference.

Adapted from: Learning about Self-Advocacy. Booklet 4: What's Next?

Activities For Conference Planning

Make a list of topics that your group might want to organize a conference about.

• What topic would be the most important?
• Why is it a good idea to have a conference about it?

Make a list of everything you might have to pay for:

• Rent for the hall or room
• Renting equipment
• Food and drinks
• An interpreter
• Postage
• Printing and mailing flyers
• Advertisements
• Paying a speaker

Imagine you are organizing a half-day conference at a local university.

• Make a list of the jobs you would need to do
• Make a list of the people who would help you complete these jobs
• Make a timetable of when the different jobs would need to be completed

Adapted from: Learning about Self-Advocacy. Booklet 4: What's Next?

Spreading the Word: Publicity

There are other ways in which groups decide to spread the word about self-advocacy.

• Leaflets: Leaflets are small pieces of paper on which information is printed. These can be handed out around the community to tell people about your self-advocacy group.
• Posters: Posters are large sheets of paper on which information is posted. You can put these up in different places where you think people who may be interested in self-advocacy would see them.
• Writing letters: You can write letters to individuals, groups, or newspapers. Writing a letter is most helpful when you want others to know what the group thinks about a certain issue.
• Advertisements in newspapers: This is a way to tell people about activities and events in the area. Sometimes advertisements cost money, and sometimes they are free.
• Reports in newspapers: This is free publicity by getting someone to write about you. If you write a letter to the newspaper they may want to write a story about you.
• Internet: The internet is a great tool to get the word out about your self-advocacy group. You can create your own website. You can join Listservs and find sources on the internet. You can even post your group events on community websites.
• Open house: You can have an open house for your group where people can invite friends, families, other people with disabilities, and community members to learn about your self-advocacy group. This may be something the group would like to do before they plan a conference.
• Radio and television: Some self-advocates have spoken on the radio or been on television to talk about self-advocacy.
• Forums: You may want to have a forum about a certain issue. This may be a next step to a letter writing campaign. Once you decide who the people are that have power to make changes about your issue, you can plan and invite them to a forum to discuss the issue with you. You may also want to invite other members of the community. This can be a good tactic to let people know about self-advocacy, and to make change about a certain issue.

Adapted from: Learning about Self-Advocacy. Booklet 4: What’s Next?