Right to speak up

 This video is about the dignity that comes with supported decision making.

People with intellectual disability speak about the things that are important for the people in their lives to do. Some of these things are:

“Take the time to understand me”

“Come with us, but be in the background to help if we need it”

“We are the experts in our life”

“We can speak up for ourselves, and can do it in many different ways”

“Sometimes communication is hard. It is important for us to get the message across”

The people with intellectual disability in this video ask for supporters and other people in their lives to be patient and slow down when listening and communicating. They talk about how important is to take the time to get to know the person first, because everybody is different.

Video transcript:

[Music]

Robert:

That word, inclusive, it’s a big word. Support people… they should learn to slow down and be patient. Take time to listen. Let them speak.

Leigh:

It’s about going to a job that you love. That you love, and you want to make a difference in that person’s life with a disability.

Louise:
It’s very important to ask me what I want to wear every day.

Robert:
Sometimes communication is hard. It’s important for us to get the message across.

Erin:
For me, if people don’t take the patience to understand me, I know when they don’t understand me.

Louise:
I’m not a baby, I’m a grown-up person.

Leigh:

Every person’s different.  And every person can feel and feel love.

Quang (using communication device):

Listen to me.

Louise:

Say if I want to go out to a restaurant, like they’ll pick up the menu and read it to me and then let me think about it first and then think ask me about it again, because I want to learn how to do it myself.

Robert:
Maintain their rights by asking the person.

Louise:
It makes me powerful in my own body.

Erin:
And when the time comes, come with us, but maybe be in the background. And if we need help, be there.

Leigh:

And to those support workers out there who’s watching this, my tip: Take moments and treat them as individuals.

Robert:

They are people first, as far as I’m concerned, and disability second.

Quang:

…as I am really smart and can teach you how to do it. For example, home technology and other new technologies.

Robert:
Eye contact, body language, you know…how they come across.

Leigh:
It’s about supporting and connecting.

Erin

Don’t take over what we’re saying. If we make mistakes, don’t jump in and talk for us.

Quang:
…To understanding what I want to do now and for future.

Erin:
If we don’t speak up, nothing will change.

Louise:
And being listened to is the hardest thing I can ever do.

Leigh:
We are the experts in our own lives.

Robert:

We can speak up for ourselves and can do it in many different ways.

Erin:
We are all human beings and we all deserve to have the power to stand up for each other and stand up and be heard.