ABSTRACT
Auto/biographical research can have an impact at both a personal and a social level. Some of those people who were certified, and institutionalized, under the terms of the Act are contributing their autobiographical accounts of their admission and subsequent incarceration in long-stay institutions. The developments in self-advocacy, and in auto/biographical research, have shown that people with learning disabilities have the capacity to express themselves, and make sense of their lives, provided we are prepared to listen. The 1980s saw the formation of self-advocacy groups, People First organizations, and groups/committees in day and residential services. Self-advocacy has encouraged people to ‘speak up’ about their experiences; not as villains, cases, victims, burdens or joys, but as people, with a whole range of experiences, views and characteristics. People with learning disabilities have been silent, or perhaps it is more accurate to say silenced, for much of the century.
