Sexual Rights: Autonomy for People With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

Summary

This article is part of Elevatus Training’s Sexual Rights series. Download the full Sexual Rights Toolkit to explore all 10 rights with activities for self-advocates and supporters.

Autonomy means self-governing — being in charge of your own life, body, mind, and relationships, and making informed decisions free of pressure. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), that right is often overlooked. This article explains what autonomy is and shares three activities to help self-advocates recognize and claim it, plus a bonus reflection for the professionals who support them.

What Is Autonomy?

Autonomy is to self-govern or to determine what you want in your life. It’s about being in charge of your life, body, mind, and relationships. It’s about having the ability to make informed decisions without others pressuring, manipulating, or forcing you to make a different decision.

“I have the right to say what happens to and with my body,” says an anonymous Illinois self-advocate.

You could replace “body” with mind, time, relationships, etc.

Learning Objective: Understanding Autonomy and Taking Action

The learning objective for this mini-lesson is self-advocacy: understanding what autonomy is and how to take action to be autonomous.

3 Activities to Build Autonomy

Explore Your Dreams and Goals

Help someone explore their dreams and goals. This helps people see that they are in charge, not others. Ask:

• What do you wish you had in your life that you don’t have right now?What is missing in your life?

If we are not given the opportunity to explore these questions, one may believe they have no right to determine what their life is like.

Explore the Barriers to Autonomy

What makes it difficult for you to be in charge of your life? It could be the individual’s own beliefs that make it difficult to be in charge of their lives:

• “I don’t know how to make good decisions” or
• “Just tell me what to do.”

It could also be the beliefs of the people around them, such as staff/teachers or family members.

Speak Up for What You Want

This can be in one’s head, by saying things to oneself, such as:

• “It is my body, and I get to decide what is right for me.”
• “I am in charge of my life.”

Or speak up to others about what you want in your life, like:

• “I want to learn about sexuality and relationships.”
• “I want to meet someone to date.”

Why Autonomy Is Empowering

When a person feels in charge of their life, it can be empowering and can lead to greater happiness in one’s life. It can also help protect them from negative experiences. If someone feels like their body is their own, they are more likely to speak up.

Here is an article — A Prelude to Consent — which will reinforce this message.

Bonus Reflection for Professionals

As a bonus activity, ask yourself:

• What am I already doing to support self-advocates to be in charge of their lives?
• What else can I do to help self-advocates feel and be in charge of their lives?