Realities of Being a Self-Advocate: Part 1

Self Advocate Bill Baxter

This past summer, The Arc Pikes Peak Region was honored to publish Self Advocate Bill Baxter’s blog, “Bill Baxter’s Story.” We are pleased to share Bill’s special series, “The Realities of Being a Self Advocate”. To learn more about or get involved with The Arc Pikes Peak Region’s group of self advocates, Include USA, click here. 

First, I would like to say what isn’t realistic in the Self Advocacy Movement and the various programs provided in the community. People with I/DD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) who are part of the self-advocate Movement in America are sometimes told they can be totally independent without family and loved ones nearby to keep an eye on them and help them where needed. This is not only unrealistic, it is completely false. I did live on my own in Old Towne Orange, California, from the Summer of 1989 through to the Fall of 2001 — just before the attack on the Twin Towers in New York and The Pentagon in Washington D.C. I had a very well-paying, full-time job and lived comfortably. However, I was not totally independent by any definition of the word. There was always family (namely my mother and father) nearby keeping an eye on me, and helping me whenever I needed it. Some people with disabilities will say, “I don’t have a disability, I have “An Ability.” I’m sorry, but that is complete bull. That also isn’t realistic. A disability is just what the word says it is, and that is the opposite of ability. Having disabilities means having limitations, and needing help and assistance from family, friends, and social workers from time to time.*

I attended a SFO Conference (Speak for Ourselves) at the Antlers Hotel in Downtown Colorado Springs last Fall with people who have disabilities and are self-advocates. I heard a lot of things much like I described above. A lot of the self-advocates were from the Boulder Area. Finally, in a room with hundreds of self-advocates, I had an opportunity to get and speak my peace. Basically, I said: “Having disabilities means just what the term says–there are limitations we have that others don’t, and we need to accept these limitations. The key to a person with I/DD living a happy and productive life is accepting these limitations, but not letting them defeat him or her in life, but still strive to be all he/she can be (and what God wants him or her to be).**” This is what I have tried to do with my life. I will say this. I will never be totally independent, and I will always need family, friends and social workers. If it weren’t for them, I would not be typing this article right now, I’d be dead, as some of you know.

So why am I a supporter of the Self-Advocacy Movement? Where does self-advocacy fit in? Why is self-advocacy needed? I belong to a minority group in America which is “Number 1” as far as being victims of prejudice goes. Having disabilities means having limitations, but at the same time, it doesn’t mean a person with I/DD can’t do anything. If a person with I/DD wants to achieve something such as a college degree, excelling in music, art, or public speaking, and he is confident he can achieve these goals, then the person with I/DD should be allowed to try. My High School Advisers told my mother and I that I could never go to college. They tried to get my mother to discourage me from going to College and take Vocational Rehab instead. My mother told them: “I will not. If my son wants to try, and thinks he can do, I am going to let him try.” I graduated from California State University–East Bay on August 31, 1979. I just celebrated the 38th anniversary of my college graduation.

When someone tells an individual with I/DD that he or she can’t go to college, can’t excel in music, art, etc; because it’s not fitting for him or her, that often stems from prejudice. Only the individual with a specific disability can really be the judge of what he can achieve and not achieve, and often needs to speak up. That is where Self Advocacy comes in. I will talk more on that in my next article.

*The views expressed in this blog are not endorsed by The Arc Pikes Peak Region and are the perspective of the author.

**The Arc Pikes Peak Region does not endorse/is not affiliated with any particular religion/faith.