Often, researchers or projects want to learn more about people with IDD. When they do, they should always include people with IDD as part of their team. The best way to learn about people with IDD is by working with people with IDD.
It is also good for people with IDD to gain skills while working on projects. Building job skills helps to get a job. It helps to be able to do many kinds of work.
Building Job Skills
At Self-Advocate Network, our team is built around people with IDD. After three years of working together, we asked the team what skills they learned from working on the project.
Here’s what they had to say:
- James said he has gotten better as a facilitator. He feels he moved to a role where he could support other self-advocates. He enjoys helping them grow their skills.
- Ashley said she enjoyed getting better at writing plain language in social media posts. She led a lot of group discussions on social media. This helped self-advocates share their voice.
- Marcie liked learning how to work remotely as a team. She found it was good to make connections even though people lived far apart from each other.
- Jenn was surprised to see how the process could change. She said when change happened, it felt like she lost something. But then she saw that nothing was lost. It was just used in a different way.
- Cindy learned she could trust the team. When a team has trust, they can do their best work.
Watch this short video of James talking about what he learned.
You can hear more about what everyone learned on this video on our YouTube channel.
Next Steps
When people with IDD gain new skills, they can use them in many ways. They can look for jobs. They can volunteer. And they can take on new roles in their groups.
Here are some of the ways our team could use their skills in the future:
- Help with social media for a group or a small business. This guides more people to understand important topics.
- Train new self-advocates. This empowers others to feel strong and ready to lead.
- Work on remote teams. Many jobs today are online. It’s a good skill to stay connected and work well with others, even from far away.
- Learn how to handle change. That is a big skill. Many jobs change over time. Being able to adjust and stay calm helps people keep moving forward.
- Learn about trust and teamwork. Every job needs people who can work well with others. Trust helps build strong teams.
When people with IDD build skills, they can add them to a resume. They can talk about them in interviews. They can ask for new chances to grow.
Why It Is Important
There is a popular saying in the disability community: Nothing about us without us. This means people with disabilities should be part of the decisions that affect their lives. It also means they should be part of research, projects, and jobs.
When people with IDD have jobs, everyone wins. The person earns money. They gain pride. They feel valued. They meet new people. They grow more confident.
Work also helps the community. Businesses get strong workers. Teams get new ideas. The economy grows when more people are working and earning money.
People with IDD have talents, ideas, and skills. When they are part of the workforce, our world is better and stronger.
Want to Learn More?
- Find self-advocates who have gained job skills.
- Join the Self-Advocate Network group on LinkedIn.
- Visit our Participatory Action Research resource hub. It has videos, research, blog posts, and more.
- Hear self-advocates talk about their skills with this playlist on our YouTube channel.
- Build your self-advocacy skills with our courses.
When people with IDD are included, we all learn more. We all do better.