Voices

David Corner has spent 12 years representing people with intellectual disabilities internationally. He has spent 24 years promoting their rights in New Zealand.

But when the bathroom in the house he owns was renovated last year, he didn’t get to choose the paint, or the vinyl that went on the floor.

David, IHC National Self-Advocacy Adviser, recently gave presentations about self-advocacy at Regional Focus Groups in Auckland, Hamilton, Kāpiti and Christchurch to encourage people with disabilities to speak up about how they want to live their lives.

Lisa Holten didn’t imagine that her daughter Sarah would, or could, become an artist. Lisa was caught up in the grind of managing day-to-day services. Like many families dealing with disability funding, she had become focused on services – what was there and what wasn’t there.