on everyone else's schedule, and it doesn't work very well. Have you ever had the experience of working with someone who always wanted to go faster than you? Have you ever struggled to learn a new computer program while the person showing you how to use it was clicking buttons and typing on keys so fast that you had no idea what was happening? That's often what life is like - every day - for a person with an intellectual disability. It doesn't come as a big surprise that self-confidence and self-esteem are common problems, does it? Or that "making a decision" can provoke extreme anxiety? When you are a person with an intellectual disability, normally there isn't enough time to make a decision - on other people's schedules - so they make it FOR you. So you never learn how to make your own decisions. Why believe in yourself when what you think and feel never seems to matter? Unless some of the people around you slow down. And listen. And give you the support you need to make your own decisions, gain confidence, and take greater control over your own life. This is a brief explanation of how challenging life with an intellectual disability can be, and also touches on what the LiveWorkPlay mission is all about with its focus on self-advocacy. 1 There are many labels for people with intellectual disabilities. Labels are at times useful, but they do not define a person, at best they provide