Sibling Advocacy Toolkit
Download the entire SLN Advocacy Toolkit (in a single pdf). This toolkit includes:
- Sample Letter to Policymakers
- Advocacy Letter-writing Tips
- What Will You Say?
- Sibling Talking Points
This toolkit emerged out of Sibling Policy Forums held in Springfield, IL and Chicago, IL in March 2014 by the Institute on Disability and Human Development.  The forums, funded by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, engaged adults with disabilities and their siblings in a policy dialogue.Â
This toolkit is designed to demonstrate how advocacy consists of multiple layers, steps and levels. “Advocacy layers” can work together for the ultimate goal of better lives for people with disabilities and their families.
This toolkit also shows the unique roles that siblings play within advocacy. From connecting with other siblings to make change to visiting with legislators, siblings offer perspectives that have not always been included in traditional forms or methods of advocacy.
The gears below illustrate the different levels of advocacy and how they are interconnected. People can be at different levels related to different situations. All levels are important to promote change.
Aimed at providing siblings with useful information, strategies and tools, this Advocacy Toolkit is designed to make use of siblings’ unique roles for advocacy policy. We’ve provided the option to download individual documents or download the whole Toolkit at once.
We advise that the Toolkit be bolstered by relevant information about specific policies. Because policies vary from state to state, and often change, we recommend downloading the latest version of the SLN Sibling Policy Brief (for national policies) and consulting The State of the States in Developmental Disabilities to look up information relevant to your state.