TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP), a federally funded protection and advocacy agency for persons with disabilities housed within The University of Alabama School of Law, has been chosen to be the sponsoring agency for a nationally recognized consumer-training program for persons with developmental disabilities.

Shifting the Power (Power) provides direct training and technical assistance on self-advocacy, self-determination, and leadership in an effort to shift power to persons with developmental disabilities. Power, developed as a “Train the Trainer” model, is funded through the U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Alabama was one of four states selected to participate in this training administered by the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill.

ADAP’s application for Power resulted from collaboration with the Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities and the Civitan International Research Center.
Over the course of the four-day workshop, Power trainees will develop their communication, problem solving, organizing and advocacy skills. The “Pathways to Community Leadership” Curriculum, a 500-page guide, is the primary resource used in the project. Ten trainees will be chosen for the program on the basis of past leadership experience, commitment to community involvement and their ability to be effective trainers.
Within one year of training by the Chapel Hill team, Power participants must teach sections from the Curriculum in a series of at least five sessions to at least 150 other people in Alabama who have developmental disabilities. The program emphasizes outreach to persons who historically have not been involved in self advocacy due to language barriers (i.e., English not their primary language), cultural differences (i.e., members of minority groups), or living in restricted environments (i.e., institutions, nursing homes, or private group homes).

For more information regarding Shifting the Power in Alabama, contact Nancy Anderson or Denise Smith at ADAP at 1-800-826-1675.