People with Intellectual Disabilities as Consumers of Support Services.

From recipients of charity to consumers with rights

People with intellectual disabilities and their families are often seen as mere recipients of support services. For many people concerned, be it service providers, professionals, political decision makers, parents, or people with intellectual disability themeselves, this requires a change of mind and attitude.

To empower consumers with intellectual disabilities, Inclusion Europe in association with Lebenshilfe Vienna, FvO, and ANAHM has implemented the European project entitled "People with Intellectual Disabilities as Consumers of Support Services".

In the framework of this project, partners have developed a resource package to make consumers with an intellectual disability aware of their rights. This package contains:

• A consumers booklet "I know what i want, I buy what I want. People with learning disablities have the power to choose their support services." This booklet is written in easy-to-read language and is available in 11 European languages. It describes typical situations experienced by three consumers of goods and special services: Ann, Peter and Mary.
• A trainer's manual which includes suggestions on how to discuss the issue with a group of people with intellectual disabilites. The trainer's manual is available in English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Finnish and Swedish
• A PowerPoint presentation which shows also the experiences of Ann, Peter and Mary and can be printed on overhead slides
• A website that guides the user through a list of choices and produces at the end a personalised checklist. With the checklist, a person with intellectual disabilities can visit a service and find out if it fulfills his or her personal needs.
• An information brochure on quality evaluation and consumer education for people with intellectual disabilites.
• A brief update on current developments of the EU consumer policy and consumer organisations.

All this material is available in PDF format on this Project Website