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Talking to people about your health can be hard BUT:
It is your body.
No one knows what you need better than you do.
You should be a part of any decisions that are made about your body and your health.
It is time to use your VOICE to take charge of your health.
What is Self Advocacy: Morgan's Story
Health and Self-Advocacy: Journey with Self Advocate Morgan Turner
Video Courtesy of Wellness 4KY
We need to share our stories, not have people without intellectual disabilities speaking for us. We are the advocates.
Renee Manfredi, Special Olympics Hawai'i Athlete, Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger & Special Olympics Health Messenger
Meet a Self-Advocate
Hear directly from self-advocates about what it means to be a self-advocate, how they take charge of their own health, and how their advocacy inspires others.
Loretta explains why it is critical to speak up and be persistent when communicating with health care providers.
Renee takes control of her health by speaking up for herself, making decisions, and always asking questions! She urges her fellow athletes to advocate for themselves by doing the same.
Nell shares how she defines self-advocacy, it’s importance, and her own journey as a self advocate.
Hilary motivates other to be advocates for themselves and shares how she strives to be the best advocate possible for herself!
Featured Resources
This form will help your health team learn about you and serve you better. People with ID can complete this form and bring it to their next health appointment or meeting with fitness or wellness instructors.
This toolkit is designed to provide self-advocates with the knowledge, skills and tools to learn about how to best advocate for their health and health care.
Provides videos, curriculum and adaptive resources to help people with disabilities and their support system take charge of their health.
25 brief video vignettes teaching people tips for self-advocacy. Each tip has its own page, brief written overview and brief video with captioning. It’s practical, easy to follow, and not intimidating.
Self-Advocacy in Action
Self-Advocate Renee Manfredi from Special Olympics Hawai’i spoke to doctors and other healthcare providers in September 2019 about what they can do to give people with ID the quality health care they deserve.
Special Olympics Health Messengers spoke at APHA's Annual Meeting with the U.S. Surgeon General about their health journeys and intentional inclusion.
Health Messengers share their experiences in a medical setting and how they have overcome barriers!
We are in the midst of a revolution to break down barriers to access to health services and programs for people with ID.
This video is our effort to amplify the voices of people with ID that ask for fairness, care, equality, and justice.