People with developmental disabilities experience discrimination everyday. The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities thinks it is time to change that.

This project is about encouraging you to speak up when you see something that is wrong, AND when you see something that is right. We all need to speak up and JUST SAY SOMETHING!

You can use the JUST SAY SOMETHING website right now to tell us and the world what you are thinking about. Tell us what you saw. Tell us what you heard. Tell us how it made you feel. Most importantly, tell us what you did, or said.

This campaign encourages and supports positive dialogue. Good advocacy is not only about changing those things that are not working, it is also about noticing and supporting those things that are. Community leaders, business leaders and lawmakers need to know that people with disabilites are here, we are paying attention, and we have a lot to say.
-Dr. Alison Lozano, Executive Director

There are Many Ways to SAY SOMETHING

Everywhere you go, pay attention to how the needs and interests of people with developmental disabilities are being considered. Look at advertising, newspaper stories, the supermarket, the train or bus, public meetings, shopping malls, outdoor concerts, playgrounds, restaurants, your church or synagogue, your local coffee shop. Then JUST SAY SOMETHING!

Let’s say you notice that a local business is disability friendly.

You can JUST SAY SOMETHING by writing a letter or picking up the phone to share favorable impressions with the business owner. Go on Facebook and post what you saw so your friends can know about it too. Tell neighbors to shop at that business and tell them why. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper; speak to a local chamber of commerce about disability issues.

Let’s say you are watching a TV show or movie that portrays people with disabilities in a negative way. You can JUST SAY SOMETHING by calling or writing to the producer. Write a letter to the actor telling them how the portrayal made you feel. Again, use social networks – Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. – to share your concerns; if it is a movie, post an online review on prominent websites and blogs.

Tell us what you did or said, or read what others have done…

We are also watching the media for issues affecting people with developmental disabilities. Click here to see what we found and what people are saying. You can also JUST SAY SOMETHING by posting your comments on the stories we find.

Here’s an example of how Just Say Something works.

One of our In the News posts – Asylum of Terror Promo Rankles DD and Mental Health Communities – prompted several readers to write to local newspapers and contact the sponsoring organizations. Here is a clipping of one letter to the editor that resulted. And we can be pretty sure that next time the organization will, as Emily asks, “come up with a better idea…”

Emily Ann Schaefer's letter to the Hunterdon County Democrat

Every effort at speaking up helps. Thanks Emily!