The Council works to make Wisconsin a better place for people with developmental disabilities to live, learn, work, and participate as members of the community. The Council is dedicated to improving the independence, productivity, and integration of people with developmental disabilities. Independence means having choices available, being able to choose, and exercising control over one's own life.
Productivity means making a contribution to one's own household, neighborhood, and community.
It means working in the community and earning a living. Integration means being present in the community, participating in the life of the community, and being valued as a person, friend, family member, and neighbor. The Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities plans and advocates for adequate and appropriate supports for people with developmental disabilities in Wisconsin. A developmental disability, as defined in state statute, is a disability attributable to brain injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, Prader-Willi Syndrome, mental retardation, or another neurological condition closely related to mental retardation or requiring treatment similar to that required for mental retardation. The disability must continue or can be expected to continue indefinitely and constitutes a substantial limitation to the individual.