| Summary: | While personalisation offers the promise of more choice and control and wider participation in the community, the reality in the UK has been hampered by local council cuts and a decline in formal services. This has left many people with intellectual disabilities feeling dislocated from collective forms of support (Needham, 2015). What fills this gap and does peer-advocacy have a role to play? Drawing on a co-researched study undertaken with and by persons with intellectual disabilities, we examined what role peer-advocacy can play in a context of reduced day services, austerity and individualised support. The findings reveal that peer-advocacy can help people reconnect in the face of declining services, problem-solve issues and informally learn knowledge and skills needed to participate in the community. We argue that peer-advocacy thus offers a vital role in enabling people to take up many of the opportunities afforded by personalisation.
|
|---|
