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Self-determination means a transfer of power, says webcast presenter
Note to readers: links to news articles may not work after a few weeks, as news media remove current stories to their archives. The link may take you to the archives section, where, for a fee, you can view the article.
Jan. 14, 2003 -- Next Wednesday, Jan. 22, Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) offers a free webcast on "Self Determination: A Transfer of Power." Presenting the webcast is Tom Nerney, President of the Center for Self-Determination (learn more about the Center for Self-Determination at http://www.self-determination.com/about/index.htm )
"People with disabilities should be able to choose to live as independently as they wish," says ILRU. "Yet self-determination, as we all know, is not a simple matter of personal volition. Tom Nerney asserts that our current system of supports creates and perpetuates enforced poverty of people with disabilities. Join us as Nerney examines self-determination, tracing its evolution to the present, discussing means by which people with disabilities are practicing self-determination, and identifying what can be done to promote consumers having a say in how they live."
The presentation will outline policy and systemic changes which Nerney says can lead to a more responsible expenditure of public funds and an assurance of greater value for its recipients. Nerney's Center promotes the idea that people must have full say in how their lives are lived -- especially when public funds are involved. When systems control funds, lives tend to diminish in quality and costs tend to increase, he says. The Center for Self-Determination is committed to reversing these historical tendencies, changing the rules and transferring power to those with disabilities," says Nerney.
Information about getting onto the webcast, and background material to read, is online at http://www.ilru.org/ku-ilru/online/index.html
The server used for the webcast can accommodate up to 300 people, says ILRU -- on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you find you cannot log onto the webcast, the presentation will be archived -- along with its handouts and other supporting materials within a couple of days and available for listening at any time.
Nerney will respond to questions and comments via a discussion forum for at least four weeks following the original presentation. The discussion forum is at http://www.comspace.com/ilru/forums/board_show.pl?bid=2
Support for the webcast is provided by the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).