Disabled People’s Organizations

Synonyms

DPOs; Organizations of persons with disabilities

Definition

DPOs are involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of community based rehabilitationprograms. These organizations already exist in many countries and often they are formed by parents of children with disabilities. The goal of DPOs is to address more people with disabilities and to actively represent them. The key roles of DPOs include the education and training of people with disabilities. Thus, disabled people and their families should get a detailed understanding of their rights and the role of DPOs in acting as advocates to ensure that these rights are enforced. As disabled people in rural areas and in poor urban areas are not well represented in DPOs, there is an increasing need to encourage people in all areas and all socio-economic groups to form DPOs. There are two types of DPOs: cross‐disability organizations and single‐disability organizations. Cross‐disability organizations represent...