ASAN Issues Joint Statement on Universal Human Rights

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After every civil rights victory for people with disabilities, there is a backlash demanding that exceptions be made. In recent years, there has been an increased trend of individual advocates and organizations saying that some people are too disabled to have civil and human rights. They claim that some students with disabilities need to be restrained in school, locked in seclusion rooms, and punished with painful aversives. They argue that some adults with disabilities need to be isolated in institutions, controlled by their service providers, and paid less than minimum wage for their work. These ideas are not new, but they remain dangerous.

ASAN has brought together a coalition of leading organizations with extensive experience advocating for people with the most significant intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as some allies, to correct the record. Our basic human rights are not meant to be selectively distributed. They are for everyone ⁠— no exceptions. Read our statement below:

Joint Statement on the Universal Civil and Human Rights of People with the Most Significant Developmental Disabilities
People with disabilities have the same civil and human rights as their peers without disabilities. Those rights are not modified, lessened, or “balanced” against other considerations because of their support needs. Every individual with a developmental disability, including those with the most significant intellectual disability, the most complex communication needs, and the most challenging behaviors, is a person with the right to:


Self-determination, including setting their own goals and making decisions about all aspects of their lives;
Community living, rather than residing in a segregated or institutional setting;
Education that is inclusive and promotes academic, civic, and social knowledge and skills;
Employment that is integrated and pays fair wages;
Freedom from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including freedom from restraint, seclusion, and aversive intervention;
Nondiscrimination in and equitable access to any and all needed health care; and,
Public policies that ensure their access to the same choices, opportunities, and experiences as people without disabilities.

The evidence is unambiguous that every person—even those with the most significant disabilities, who have complex medical, behavioral, or communication needs, or who need support 24 hours a day—can successfully learn, live, and work in the community. We also know that when people with disabilities are integrated and included in the community, they are safer, happier, gain more skills, and have a dramatically higher quality of life. We acknowledge that existing service systems may be inadequate—but we also know that practical solutions do exist to support people with the most intense needs to live full lives of meaning and purpose in their communities. The rightful focus of attention for all stakeholders must be on improving systems and scaling up high-quality community-based services, not a return to institutions.

Community living, inclusion, and self-determination are the rights of all people with disabilities. All means all. These rights are universal and apply equally and fully to all of humanity—including people with the most significant developmental disabilities, who have always been the last to be allowed their full rights. Civil and human rights are universal to all people and are not dependent on the level of support someone may require. Public policies, civil infrastructures, services, and supports for people with disabilities must be designed with this recognition. All means all.

Endorsed by:
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR)
Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE)
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Disability Rights Network
Spina Bifida Association
TASH
The Arc of the United States
Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance
United Cerebral Palsy National
U.S. International Council on Disabilities