"The goal of supporting families is to support families, with all their complexity and diversity, in ways that maximizes their capacity, strengths, and unique abilities so they can best support, nurture, love, and facilitate the achievement of self-determination, interdependence, productivity, integration, and inclusion in all facets of community life for their family members."
(working definition from: ADD National Agenda on Family Support Conference – 2011)
Families state that in order to better care and plan for their family member with a developmental disability, they need and want up-to-date information and resources, access to peer support and shared life experience connections, and knowledge of and access to tangible supports and services.