Empowering people with intellectual disabilities to challenge stigma

Abstract

Empowering people with intellectual disabilities to challenge stigma is complex. In many countries, decades of social policy designed to promote equal rights and enhance social inclusion have failed to generate the social conditions or the types of support arrangements necessary for people with intellectual disabilities to lead self-determined lives. Their deeply stigmatized social identities are difficult to manage and the disability rights movement has often not welcomed their participation, leaving individuals with few options to challenge negative perceptions. Self-advocacy groups offer distinct social spaces that enable people with intellectual disabilities to develop more positive social identities and engage in ‘subtle radicalism’ that challenges stigma.