• What Makes a Good Story?
• Learning More About the Issue
• Know Your Rights
• 101 Places to Find Facts
• Pat and Jeffery Tietz's Personal Story
• Stories of Pioneers With Developmental Disabilities

From an advocate's point of view, a good story:

1. Is the one you love to tell. Think about the stories you've told your family and friends when describing the situation you're trying to change. What examples do you use? What facts or incidents draw the most emotional response from them?
   
   
2. Captures a central idea. Don't try to cover too many incidents in one story. Focus on one issue and use real-life details to make it come alive.
   
   
3. Has a main character that people want or -- should want -- to help. The more your audience knows about you or your child as individuals, the stronger the emotional connection and the more likely you'll be able to affect real change.
   
   
4. Presents a struggle, conflict or challenge. Conflict is a struggle between two incompatible needs, wants or situations. Your story might illustrate a conflict between your right to equal education and the school board's refusal to pay for a dedicated classroom aide.
   
   
5. Has a "climax" or high point. Your story should build up to an example that makes your listener say, "that's unfair" or "that's too ridiculous to be true." For example, democracy gives every citizen the right to vote. However, in one county, several voters were denied that right because they "looked retarded." Ridiculous? Yes. Illegal? Yes. True? Unfortunately, yes.
   
   
6. Contains vivid images. Use words to draw mental pictures that help listeners connect to your story at an emotional level. Don't be afraid of strong words. Words like "cold," "dark," "hates," "terrified," "cringed" and "panics" create a negative emotional response. Positive words can cause emotional reactions just as easily. Think about how you feel when you hear the words "giggle," "sunny," "beautiful," "artistic," and "loving."
   
   
7. Is detailed. The more details you can provide, the better the official will understand - and sympathize with - your position. A note of caution: Make sure the details and images you include are relevant to the story you're telling.
   
   
8. Addresses the five W's and an H...who, what, when, where, why and how. Policymakers need the basic facts.
   
   
9. Has a beginning, middle and an end. Think about an ongoing television series. You might not be a regular viewer but within a few minutes of watching, you know the characters and the situation they're confronting. By the end of the show, you'll see the story unfold and the conflict resolved.
   
   
10. Is short and to the point. Policymakers are very busy. You need to be able to tell your story in five minutes or less so stay focused!

The Internet or public agencies, such as the Department of Labor or the Department of Health Services, provide a wealth of statistical information, as do local or national organizations devoted to specific interests, such as Home of Your Own, The Arc, and other advocacy groups.

The following table identifies some general resources for each set of issues to get you started. Check the Resources section for more ideas.

Type of Issue	Resources
LIVE Issues related to housing, education, medical care, family supports, transportation, waivers, etc.	Home of Your Own, alliance.unh.edu Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, www.c-c-d.org A House for All Children: Planning A Supportive Home Environment for Children With Disabilities; Richard V. Olsen, Ph.D., B. Lynn Hutchings, M. Arch., and Ezra Ehrenkrantz, F.A.I.A., (Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Institute of Technology Press, 2000).
LEARN Access to equal, inclusive education, transportation, waivers, etc.	Disability Rights, Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), www.dredf.org The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), www.cec.sped.org Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html
WORK Employment opportunities, job training, job coaching, promotion opportunities, transportation, etc.	Department of Labor, www.dol.gov Job Accommodation Network (JAN), www.jan.wvu.edu Department of Transportation, www.fta.dot.gov Worksupport.com, www.worksupport.com
PARTICIPATE Equal access to recreational opportunities, voting, full citizenship, facilities access, etc.	TASH, www.tash.org Very Special Arts, www.vsarts.org Justice For All, www.tnet.com/justice

You can learn about your rights by reviewing the:

• U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights
• Declaration of Independence.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (http://www.jan.wvu.edu/links/adalinks.htm) is another excellent source of information and outlines many of the rights people with developmental disabilities are routinely denied.

1. Internet: Most web sites contain a resource or "links to other sites" which are excellent ways of finding information. Just make sure you jot down where you are so you can come back to it later.
   
   
2. Newspaper articles
   
   
3. Books
   
   
4. Studies
   
   
5. Surveys
   
   
6. Research Reports
   
   
7. Interviews with Specialists
   
   
8. Interviews with Agencies
   
   
9. Interviews with Other Interested Parties
   
   
10. Organization White Papers: These opinion articles often state an organization's position on a particular issue
    
    
11. Think of your own...

Sometimes it's hard to narrow the contents of your personal story to just a few, well-chosen examples and facts. Here's an example of how an effective personal story might look.

My name is Pat Tietz and my son, Jeffery, is in kindergarten. We live in the Jordan school district but Jeffery is required to attend a special school for children with developmental disabilities in Shakopee. Jeffery has a degenerative condition that requires him to use a wheelchair. He also has frequent severe seizures that require prompt medical intervention. While Jeffery is doing well at the Shakopee school, it is simply too far away. Jeffery must travel over an hour to and from school in a special bus - that's a challenge for any young child, but it is an overwhelming obstacle for one with physical limitations. In January, after Jeffery had a major seizure during the school day, it took twice as long to get him to the hospital as it would have taken if he attended our neighborhood school. Enough is enough.

Under the law, Jeffery must be allowed to attend our neighborhood school. Other communities have embraced the concept of including all children in a local school and seen wonderful results. Jeffery may not be a very good student but he is an excellent teacher and I'm convinced other students, teachers and administrators will learn valuable lessons about inclusion and accepting each person as an individual by including children with developmental disabilities in traditional classrooms. Currently, six other children from Jordan are isolated from their community in a similar way. Their parents share my view and want their children to participate in their local communities in meaningful ways.

It's time Jordan schools implemented the accommodations they are required to make and opened its schools to all children, regardless of race, sex or ability.

Ed Roberts' Story

Ed Roberts (1939-1995) was an internationally recognized leader in the Independent Living/Civil Rights for People with Disabilities movement, and President of the World Institute on Disability, a public policy organization that promotes the inclusion of all people with disabilities into the mainstream of life.

Here is a segment of testimony he delivered regarding Section 504. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights provision that protects people with disabilities against discrimination in all federally-assisted/federally financed programs and activities.

"...We're going to win this. And we're not going to stop until Title Four, which I believe is a basic civil rights platform, guarantees to each person with a disability in this country that they are equal in the eyes of the law and that they will have equal access to educational institutions, to hospitals, to the institutions in our society which serve us all. It seems to me, that as director of the largest department of rehabilitation in this country, we are more than handicapped without these laws - we're crippled."

Tony Coehlo's Story

Tony Coehlo, a former Congressman and House Whip, is considered the original father of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Below is an excerpt from one of his earlier speeches.

"My doctor had to notify the legal authorities of my epilepsy. My church was notified and immediately I was not able to become a Catholic priest...because my church did not, at the time, permit epileptics to be priests. My driver's license was taken away, my insurance was taken away. Every job application has the word epilepsy on it and I marked it because I was not going to lie. And I couldn't get a job. My parents refused to accept my epilepsy. I became suicidal and drunk by noon. And the only reason is...because I hadn't changed as a person...the only reason is that the world around me had changed."

Karen Gorr's Story

"My name is Karen Gorr. At age three, I was placed in an institution where I spent 10 and half years. It was not a pleasant experience at all. My mom was finally able to take me home for the summer after 10 and a half years and told me if I could learn to walk in those three short months that perhaps I could stay home and go to school, in a so-called normal school with normal children again. I did go to a country school, started in the 3rd grade at age 13, I graduated 7 years later from high school, entered college and became a physical education teacher. I now live with my husband Bill and we have a healthy, active daughter."