James Charlton

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James Charlton, was an American author and disability rights activist, created a model of the disability rights movement that differentiates between a number of different kinds of organizations:

1. Local self-help groups, which provide counseling and moral support, and which often do not have a set agenda because their concerns focus primarily on group members;
2. Advocacy and program centers on a local level, which include non-residential Independent Living, non-profit organizations that educate the public and engage in advocacy and service;
3. Single-issue advocacy groups on the local level, which ofetn align themselves with larger advocacy groups at higher levels;
4. Public policy groups, which can include educational centers and institutes, such as the World Institute on Disability;
5. Single-issue advocacy groups on the national level, which focus on a specific problem, such as accessible transportation or personal attendant services;
6. National membership organizations, which advocate using local chapters;
7. National coalitions and federations of groups, which are autonomous organizations that link and co-advocate, such as the National Council on Independent Living;
8. National single-disability organizations, the oldest type of disability group, which are focused on a particular disabilty,
9. Regional organizations, which are neither national nor local, such as a state group or a group based on a larger sub-region of a country; and
10. International organizations that have a global focus, such as Mobility International.

[edit] See also

• List of disability rights activists
• List of disability rights organizations

[edit] References

• Switzer, Jacqueline Vaugn. Disabled Rights: American Disability Policy and the Fight for Equality. Georgetown University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-87840-898-3