ACT Memo

As you requested, this is your ACT Self-Advocacy Resource Network Memo facilitating a national dialogue among self-advocates and supporters and a clearinghouse for materials and training that support self-advocacy.

October 17, 2007

It Started as a Good Idea [But Turned Out Badly]

Remember when lots of people with disabilities lived in institutions? Remember the awful treatment they often got there? Well, guess what: those places were started by people with good intentions. History is full of bad things started by good people.

It is not enough just to want to do some good. More is needed in order to avoid problems: good judgment. Clear thinking. Someone looking over your shoulder.

Be glad when people want to help. But guide them.

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1.	Samuel Gridley Howe’s Advice
2.	Group Discussion
3.	Resource


1.	Samuel Gridley Howe’s Advice Samuel Gridley Howe was sadly on target when he spoke, in 1868, at the dedication of an institution to serve people with disabilities. “Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is only half our duty: Thinking right is the other and equally important half.” [Return to top]



2.	Group Discussion Read the above memo out loud. Then ask the question: “Is there anything wrong with having good intentions (charitable impulses)?” Give everyone a chance to respond. There are no right or wrong answers. [Return to top]

3.	Resource Saints, Sinners and Special People is a self-led workshop that will help you guide your group as it learns about the harm of moral labels, including the well-meaning term “special.” [Return to top]

Today’s Trivia Question:

How many people with developmental disabilities live in state institutions in the U.S.A?

a. None
b. 980
c. 38,000
d. 500,000

(Thanks to SARN member Mike Patrick for this trivia question. The answer will be published in the next Memo.)

Answer to October 10th Trivia Question:

c. Cesar Chavez

Question was: Who was it that said, “To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence”?

a. Mother Teresa
b. Rosa Parks
c. Cesar Chavez
d. Nelson Mandela

(Thanks to SARN member Trena D. Wade from San Diego People First in El Cajon, California for this trivia question.)

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