The impact of self-advocacy on families

The impact of self-advocacy on families of people with learning difficulties has rarely been instigated. A participatory research project is currently studying this question. This paper argues that adulthood is central. The meanings attached to self-advocacy by people with learning difficulties are examined to support this, and the family context explored to discover the likely experiences and influences which will condition the reception for self-advocacy. The early findings of the research-from discussions with self-advocacy groups-are presented. We should expect self-advocacy to impact on families and for this impact to exhibit itself in a variety of ways, but because of the experiences and conditioning of families, and of people with learning difficulties, the impact will be complicated. It is this real experience of self-advocacy and families which the research is investigating.