Fiz,

My wife and I have both have CP, and are in our mid-40's.  Neither of us
have ever been involved in a situation where a case manager was an
option.  I'm guessing by your e-mail address that you're in Australia.  

In the US, outcomes for people with disabilities is largely dependent on
the amount of a ruckus that we (or our parents) are willing to raise.
Janet's mom and dad made sure that Janet was included in a regular
classroom 14 years before there were laws requiring that, and my parents
did the same.  

When we graduated from high school, and went on to college, we'd learned
to advocate for ourselves by watching our parents' examples.  At this
point, we're able to care for ourselves, but if we get to the point we
need help to accomplish some of the physical tasks we do independently,
or by helping each other with, we'll know how to do that on our own.  We
both work for our state's University Center on Disabilities, so we've
got the connections to make that happen!

Kendall Corbett

An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

-----Original Message-----
From: Kathy Jo Pink [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 2:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: new member thanks

I have a case manager.  Kathy









Felice Tanya Vaiani wrote:

>Thank you to all for your opinions, I knew this was
>bound to be an intelligent group. I am open to any
>questions you may have for me, and always up for a
>hearty debate.
> I'm interested how many people in here self advocate
>as opposed to having case managers and why they chose
>the option they did. I "bang my own drum" because lots
>of people have pushed me around in governmental
>departments.
>
>In strength,
>Felice
>
>Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.
>http://au.movies.yahoo.com
>
>
>
>