Previous Story
CDD continues to promote self-advocacy
As part of their State Plan for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, the Council on Developmental Disabilities will continue to promote self-advocacy among affected members of the CNMI public.
According to CDD executive director Pamela Sablan, it is part of the council’s training to help participants understand their individual strengths and needs, their goals in life, knowing both their rights and responsibilities, and communicating these to those in a position that can help them make a positive difference in their lives and communities.
Sablan said that they are expanding self-advocacy in the CNMI and that CDD has strategies to achieve this focus this year.
“CDD focuses on building capacity for self-advocacy,” Sablan said.
So far, CDD has provided outreach, trainings, supporting and educating communities, interagency collaborations and coordination with programs, barrier elimination, and informing policymakers of the focus on self-advocacy.
According to Sablan’s statement on the State Plan, a minimum of 25 self-advocates per year will be educated and trained on regulations and laws of how businesses, schools, and government should be accessible to individuals with developmental disabilities.
“Feeling confident is important and self-advocacy is speaking out for yourself and taking charge of what you want to do,” Sablan said.
CDD has improved on self-advocacy through “needs assessment,” working with partners to carry out curriculum review and development and outreach activities, recruiting participants for training, and carrying out training on regulations and laws.
Sablan said that self-advocacy wouldn’t focus only on people developmental disabilities but also the community itself.
“We did a self-advocacy workshop this year in April, and we will continue to provide more self-advocacy trainings,” Sablan said.
She also noted that besides the self-advocacy focus, other implementations and programs will be provided to the public as well and also more information and necessities to people with developmental disabilities.
