Campaigns.

Current Campaign.

We believe it is time this question is asked of everything in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

As simple as this question is, and as crucial it is to happiness, fulfilment, and quality of life, we seem to be in a culture that has a tendency to shy away from it. Perhaps it is because when the answer is ‘no’ it highlights that things need to be done differently, which might not be an easy fix. Perhaps it is because when the answer is ‘no’ you should be turning to yourself and wondering why you are accepting it then and not doing something about it.

In our opinion, for many the status quo provides the path of least resistance. And with life being tricky enough anyway suddenly taking on a whole new approach may seem beyond you. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities can look around them at the societal and cultural obstacles they have to contend with (poor education, lack of accessible information, neurotypicals acting or making decisions their behalf) and believe there is no hope of change, even if they speak out. Care staff may look at the structure and ethos of the service provider that employs them and ‘know’ that their appeals of profit-focussed short staffing would fall upon deaf ears. An employee that is troubled by the lack of neurodiversity in their workplace may not be able to conceive of the role they could play in remedying this. For such reasons, asking ARE YOU SATISFIED?! will likely even be avoided owing to the uncomfortable feelings of dissatisfaction it elicits.

However, things need to change, and we are here to provoke that change. In order to mobilise a shift in thinking like this you need encouragement, momentum, and the faith that your battles can be won. For most people, the willingness to revolt is inevitably linked to whether they feel like others will stand with them when they do so, and they will not be left to fight alone. The aim of this campaign it to create a swelling of voices proudly stating what they are not satisfied about, which will in turn allow others to feel brave enough to do the same. The bigger the swell, the more compelling the movement is, and the more likely the injustices apparent in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will gain wider attention.

Don’t get us wrong, this is not just about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities complaining that ‘it’s not fair’. We acknowledge that those individuals have to also be willing to change themselves, to apply themselves to work, training, commitment, accountability, and responsibility. Furthermore, this campaign is intended for the stakeholders in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (care staff, families, social workers, tutors) to highlight the things that they are not satisfied about in their role, such as short staffing preventing them from investing sufficient time in someone they work with, or the cutting of financial benefits.

To kick things off, we will be making statements about three key areas of dissatisfaction. We intend this to be a demonstration of how the question can be applied and how change can be demanded. These areas are:

• Work

• Sex & Relationships

• Education

Keep your eyes peeled for how we are going to explode these topics onto the scene in 2021.