How we work
We work with a variety of groups, some established as cross-disability organisations and others who come together due to the experience of a common impairment or shared experience e.g. deaf people or disabled women. The organisations range from small groups at village or local level, to larger, representational national federations or unions, who are also linked into regional and international networks of disabled people. ADD supports groups of disabled people by:
- building up their confidence in their own worth, abilities and rights
- helping them take control of their lives
- campaigning, advocating and lobbying for equal rights
- helping them run more sustainable, democratic, efficient and inclusive organisations
- supporting them to set up self-help initiatives to improve their standards of living.
In all of our work we try to ensure that disabled people themselves are leading their own campaign for social justice and inclusion in society. Our long-term aim is to assist in the development of strong local networks and organisations of disabled people who will continue to work effectively long after ADD's direct involvement ceases. This is done by empowering programmes, giving responsibility to the groups and providing the necessary skills to be independent.
ADD also works with the disability movement to ensure that it is representative of all disabled people. A number of initiatives have been developed to ensure the greater participation of women within the disability movement. This includes the establishment of disabled women's organisations and women's sections within existing disabled people's organisations.
The needs of disabled children and young people are also now included within the scope of the disability movement: associations of parents and carers of disabled children have been established, and ADD is now working with partners to find ways of helping disabled children and young people to represent themselves, and to play a more active role within the disability movement.
To find out more about some specific areas of ADD's work please click here to download (3.4 MB pdf) ADD's Election Monitoring factsheet about disabled people's right to vote. Or here to download (934 KB pdf) ADD's Make Disablism History factsheet.