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Self-Advocacy Training

Length: 4-6 hrs

Purpose: This is where it all begins! This training offers a wide variety of information about how to speak up for yourself in all kinds of situations. Topics include guardianship, becoming a member of a self-advocacy group, rights and responsibilities, decision-making and how to learn from mistakes.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates and their supporters

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How to Start a Self-Advocacy Group

Length: 1 - 2 hours

Purpose: SUFU members share tips for starting local self-advocacy groups, working with advisors, planning activities and running meetings. They also discuss reviving current groups that need a spark.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates, their supporters, agency management and staff

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Person Centered Planning

Length: 2 hours

Purpose: SUFU offers a person centered planning perspective straight from the source! People who have done some of their own planning talk about what it’s like and how supporters, family and friends can help keep the process person centered!

Intended Audience: Self Advocates, their supporters, families and friends

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Length: 1 hour

Purpose:  Self-advocates around the state are traveling!  Learn tips from SUFU members about attending conferences and staying in hotels.  They will share ideas about how to get the most out of your conference experience. 

Intended Audience:  Self-advocates and their supporters

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Project VOTE

Length: 2, 3 or 6 hours

Purpose: Participants learn about voting issues, how to register, where to vote, how to vote, possible obstacles to voting, how to overcome them and how to help more people with disabilities to vote.

Intended Audience: People with disabilities, their families, other supporting people and organizations

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How to Support True Independence

Length: 2 hours

Purpose:  This training addresses how important it is for self advocates to be involved in the community, to be independent and to be able to take risks.  Learn how to give the right amount of support.  Self Advocates share stories and discuss why it can be scary to take risks or let people we care about take risks.  Learn about the power you have inside yourself and how good it feels when you do something others thought you couldn’t.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates and their supporters

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Independent Living: A Place to Hang My Hat

Length: 2 hours

Purpose: Hear ideas about independent living as self advocates with different points of view share their stories and experience. Presenters describe how they chose between living alone, with family or roommates.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates, their supporters, high school students with disabilities, community members and organizations.

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I Can Be Included in My House of Worship

Length: 1 1/2 - 2 hours

Purpose: A SUFU member and advisor will share their unique story of spiritual inclusion along with ideas for helping people become a part of the spiritual community of their choice.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates, their supporters and spiritual communities

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Identifying and Preventing Exploitation

Length: 2-4 hours

Purpose: Self advocates from Maine will address the exploitation of people with developmental disabilities. Through an interactive presentation, participants will identify potentially exploiting situations, how to access help when exploitation happens.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates and their supporters

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Emergency Preparedness Training

Length: 1/1/2 - 2hours

Purpose: Emergency Preparedness training is a workshop that will teach participants how to prepare for an emergency. Self-advocates will learn how to identify an emergency, why it is important to be prepared and what items to have in the house. They will find out how to decide when to evacuate and what important written information to complete. Participants also receive “Go Bags”, along with a graphic list (developed by Speaking Up For Us) of what to have on hand for an emergency.

Intended audience: Self advocates, supporters, families, agencies

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Be a Leader, Be a Speaker

Length: 4 hours

Purpose: This fun and interactive workshop includes an understanding of the ways people communicate; how to make action plans for speaking, leading a meeting, presenting and testifying; explains and demonstrates skills for doing presentations, and gives participants the opportunity to practice the skills they have learned in the workshop.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates and leaders of local self advocacy groups

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Advisor/Supporter Training

Length: 6 hours

Purpose: Through networking, sharing and brainstorming, participants will learn creative ways to support self advocates and their groups. Based on needs, discussion can include supporting self advocates to start self-advocacy groups, facilitate existing groups, to use problem solving and brainstorming skills, set and achieve goals, and topics relevant to supporters.

Intended Audience: Supporters

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ADA Rights in the Community

Length: 2 - 2 1/2 hours

Purpose: This interactive workshop shows the kinds of help we should find in places like restaurants, stores, hotels and banks for people with disabilities. It shows what rights people have so that people with disabilities can feel more at home in their community.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates, their supporters, businesses and community organizations

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ADA Supporting Inclusion

Length: 3 hours

Purpose: This workshop shows ways to support someone to educate people in their community about their rights while “opening doors” to new opportunities and relationships. This workshop includes information from the ADA training described above, but focuses on helping people to create relationships in their community beyond support staff.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates and their supporters

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Telling Your Story Your Way

Length: 2-4 hrs

Purpose: “Telling your story is a great way to share your past and to share you dreams for the future. Remember it’s your story and only you can tell your story.” This workshop explores why it is important to tell your story, who to share your story with, and includes a ‘toolkit’ with several creative tools and techniques for people to share their stories. This is a great workshop to learn how to share your history and dreams.

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Helping Families Let Go

Length: 2 hours

Purpose: In this workshop about gaining independence from families, presenters will share reasons it is hard for families to let go and ways to earn your independence.

Intended Audience: Self Advocates, their supporters and families

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The Tangled Web of Love and Relationships

Length: 1 1/2 - 2 hours

Purpose: We will be talking about love, friendships and crushes. We will also talk about 'red flags' that tell you when something isn't OK in a relationship. We will share ideas about how to make your friendships last and good qualities to look for in a boyfriend or girlfriend. Audience participation is encouraged!

Intended Audience: Self Advocates

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Length: 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.

Purpose:  This workshop with lots of audience participation teaches about the rights of people who receive support services. Trainers ask the audience for examples of rights and the group talks about them. The audience is asked for help with role plays to help show common scenarios where rights violations can happen.  Role play topics include confidentiality, dignity and respect, right to privacy and person-centered planning.

Intended Audience:  Self-advocates, Supporters

To schedule: please contact Jodi Benvie, Disability Rights Center, 207-626-2774 ext. 205  or jbenvie@drcme.org

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