Advocacy

At the heart of the National Institute for Intellectual Disability, and the work we do, is a dedication to advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. As one of the three pillars of the NIID (the others being education and research), advocacy threads are woven throughout all our activities.

We act as advocates on macro and micro scales. Within our education and research initiatives, advocacy is a key concern. Using outcomes from our research projects, and also the Certificate in Contemporary Living and Masters in Disability Studies programmes, we advocate for larger societal change in policies and systems that impact and inform what life is like for people with intellectual disabilities. The NIID houses a number of initiatives that feed directly into these goals, such as the Business Partners Programme and the NIID Alumni Association (for our Graduates).

We offer our support directly to a number of independent advocacy initiatives across Ireland who use the NIID as a base for their activities, including;

• The National Anti-bullying Advocacy Group
• The Connect People Network www.connectpeoplenetwork.tk
• Summer School of Inclusion
• LEAP Ireland Communication Skills for Parents

We have made links with many more organisations who work in the intellectual disability field in Ireland and globally. This has facilitated a network of like-minded individuals and groups to be created, furthering our advocacy agenda. For more details on these initiatives, please click here: Links to advocacy initiatives

The National Institute for Intellectual Disability is also proud to offer events which feed into our passion for advocacy on the micro and macro scales. These include our annual Summer School and workshops on Communication Skills for parents