我们的倡导，我们的故事

自我倡导对你而言意味着什么？有几位伙伴给出了这样的答案！

We asked self-advocates what self-advocacy means to them. This is what they told us.

对我来说，自我倡导是能够为自己发声，告诉人们你想要什么、你需要什么并得到个性化的有效支持，你可以说出自己的梦想，并实现它。

Self-advocacy to me means that you’re able to speak up for yourself and tell people what you want, what you need and get the right supports that you need and be able to tell your dreams and make them possible.

我想，你肯定很想知道你肯定很想知道自我倡导的概念是什么？它对我而言意味着什么？在我看来，自我倡导就是为自己以及那些无法为自己发声的人呐喊，敞开心扉，分享自己的观点，说出自己的真实感受是自我倡导的关键所在。还有非常重要的一点是要试着去影响更多的人，让他们加入进来，这就体现了自我倡导组织存在的意义。在全国各地，有成千上万的自我倡导组织，大家聚在一起，讨论那些我们认为很重要的话题，例如如何进行机构改革，如何走出家门，获得选举权，这就是真正的自我倡导。

I’m sure you might be wondering what is self-advocacy ? what does it means to you. To me, self-advocacy is about speaking up for myself and for others who are unable to speak up for themselves. And that is the key to self-advocacy, Speaking from your heart, speaking from your own opinion , telling people how you really feel that is the keystone of what self-advocacy is because we try to influence other people to do the same thing, that’s why there are tens of thousands of self- advocacy groups all around the country getting together talking about issues that are important to you because they talk about how can we close institutions how can we go out and vote that is exactly what self-advocacy really is.

在我看来自我倡导是为自己发声而不是让别人替你发声，自我倡导的方式有很多种。

Self-advocacy to me is speaking up for yourself and not letting other people speak for you, that’s different kinds of self-advocacy.

以前我不知道自我倡导是什么，我从没为自己发声。现在，我站了出来，为自己发声，表达内心的想法。以前，我无所事事，呆在家里，就那样坐着，虚度光阴，我曾经上过夜校，那里的很多同学都是残障人士，那些被人们认为很特殊的人，他们四处奔走，为自己发声，为权利疾呼。据说，他们来自一个自倡导组织，虽然不知道他们是谁，但沉默寡言的我（看到这一切后），心想：这些人讨论的话题都好重要呀！我对夜校的老师说，我想回普通学校上学。回到普校后我很开心，我学着为自己的权利发声，并加入了一个自我倡导小组，不过，没过多久，我就离开了。后来我到一个车间工作，因为不愿意在大好时光，做着反复而无意义的工作，回到家，我给一家自我倡导组织寄了一张明信片然后加入了他们。在那里伙伴们教会我如何挑战自己，他们说的话，我都铭记在心，他们让我感到最重要的事情是建立有意义的人际关系，与你认为值得深交的人做朋友，无论他们是否残障。每个人都应该拥有一份意义的工作，即使收入很低，但至少可以获得生活保障。如果可以，谁想去过无所事事的生活呢？去结识值得深交的朋友，去选择自己想要的生活。对我来说，自我倡导就是为自己以及不能表达自己想法的人发声。

One time, I didn’t know what self-advocacy meant. I didn’t speak up for myself. Now look at me today, I’m speaking up what’s on my mind. I used to sit at home there were no day program. I used to sit there, waste my time. I went to a night school and all it had was people who had special needs and who were special that they consider us. I saw people going down these steps at one time, they were speaking up for themselves and speaking up for their rights. That was borne of a self-advocacy group, didn’t know what they were. Me, the person who never talked much, didn’t have much to say. Thought. These people are speaking up on important issues . So I told my teacher in night school that I wanted to go back to regular school. When I was happy to go back learned how to speak up for my rights. and I joined the self-advocacy group, didn’t join long, got out of it. Then I went on to a workshop, meaningful day waste program. no faults of my own, went home, got a postcard for a self-advocacy group and I joined it. These people taught me how to challenge myself. Anything they said, I listened to it. They taught me about the important issues, that people should have, meaningful relationship, one thing, that you can date anybody you want with a disability or without. They can have a meaningful job who wants to be in a day waste program. They make pennies a day, while at night you can make whatever minimum wage is. Have friends and pick your friends, Pick the things you want. Self-advocacy means to me is how I spoke up, spoke out and spoke for other people who couldn’t speak for themselves.