Speak Up – Self Advocates

Speak Up for Yourself :

Join the advocacy group Speak Up sponsored by Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Advocacy means speaking up about issues important to you.

Everyone can be a self–advocate.

Vision
“Everyone to be treated equally and fairly.”

Mission statement:
“Speak Up will support its members to learn how to teach others and give back to the community.”

Contact Information:
Courtney Hineman, Community Outreach Advocate, by phone at 513-785-2873 or by email crhineman@butlerdd.org. You may also contact Lynn Goodwin at mgoodwin@butlerdd.org or 513-785-2881.

Just Right! – episode 2

The right to privacy. Just Right! A video series explaining the rights of people with developmental disabilities, produced by the Speak Up self-advocacy group and the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Just Right – Episode 1

A Meaningful Life

Butler County DD Community Recognition Award Winners

Butler County DD 50th Anniversary Video

Self Advocacy

A Reference Guide to DD Self-Advocacy Groups in Ohio – 2021

This list was created by the Adult Advocacy Centers (AACs) and Ohio’s Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council, with support from Ohio’s…

An Advocacy Guidebook for People with Developmental Disabilities

This guidebook was created to provide information and resources to people with developmental disabilities, professionals and family members to help…

SALT TALKS annual calendar

The DD Bill of Rights According to Ohio Revised Code Section 5123.62

The rights of persons with developmental disabilities include, but are not limited to, the following list below. To watch an ASL interpretation of the Easy Read Guide to the Bill of Rights (for Deaf and hard of hearing viewers) click here.

(A) The right to be treated at all times with courtesy and respect and with full recognition of their dignity and individuality;

(B) The right to an appropriate, safe, and sanitary living environment that complies with local, state, and federal standards and recognizes the persons’ need for privacy and independence;

(C) The right to food adequate to meet accepted standards of nutrition;

(D) The right to practice the religion of their choice or to abstain from the practice of religion;

(E) The right of timely access to appropriate medical or dental treatment;

(F) The right of access to necessary ancillary services, including, but not limited to, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and behavior modification and other psychological services;

(G) The right to receive appropriate care and treatment in the least intrusive manner;

(H) The right to privacy, including both periods of privacy and places of privacy;

(I) The right to communicate freely with persons of their choice in any reasonable manner they choose;

(J) The right to ownership and use of personal possessions so as to maintain individuality and personal dignity;

(K) The right to social interaction with members of either sex;

(L) The right of access to opportunities that enable individuals to develop their full human potential;

(M) The right to pursue vocational opportunities that will promote and enhance economic independence;

(N) The right to be treated equally as citizens under the law;

(O) The right to be free from emotional, psychological, and physical abuse;

(P) The right to participate in appropriate programs of education, training, social development, and habilitation and in programs of reasonable recreation;

(Q) The right to participate in decisions that affect their lives;

(R) The right to select a parent or advocate to act on their behalf;

(S) The right to manage their personal financial affairs, based on individual ability to do so;

(T) The right to confidential treatment of all information in their personal and medical records, except to the extent that disclosure or release of records is permitted under sections 5123.89 and 5126.044 of the Revised Code;

(U) The right to voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services without restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal;

(V) The right to be free from unnecessary chemical or physical restraints;

(W) The right to participate in the political process;

(X) The right to refuse to participate in medical, psychological, or other research or experiments.

(Ohio Revised Code: 5123.62)

DD Bill of Rights