ILO Definitions

Self-advocates: Self-advocates are adults with developmental delays and/or other significant challenges. It is a term that respectfully reflects their abilities and their rights to make choices.

Participating Families: Participating families is the term used to describe families that have met the requirements for joining ILO, including the completion of the New Futures Initiative Training, a commitment to have their self-advocate complete the readiness assessment within a specific time frame, and ongoing active engagement in commitment to attend meetings with other ILO families.

Intentional Communities: Intentional communities refer to the network of family, social, and professional supports that provide the rich environment in which self-advocates can thrive.

Personal Network: Personal network is the term used to describe the specific individuals identified by a participating family as the support system for their self-advocate.

Full Life Futures Process Skills Inventory: Full Life Futures Process Skills Inventory is a detailed assessment of a self-advocates daily living skills and experiences. This assessment is the basis for preparing the self-advocate for independent living and for those advocates already out of the family home, for maintaining skills and developing new ones. Center for Independent Futures®  is an organization in Evanston, Illinois that created the Full Life Model for self-advocates. Center for Independent Futures® provides training for families, a skills assessment for individuals with special needs, and guidance for ILO.

New Futures Initiative Training: New Futures Initiative training is a series of workshops developed by Center for Independent Futures® and adapted for ILO that introduces families to the Full Life Model, and teaches them about how ILO is working to develop networks for support in the areas it serves.

Center for Independent Futures® name and trademarks are used with permission.