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In this paper I describe how self-advocacy has grown in the Czech Republic. First, I talk about how services for people with learning disabilities have begun to change in the last few years. This is because voluntary groups have lobbied and campaigned for change. I learned about self-advocacy during a visit to the UK in the 1990s. I went back to the Czech Republic and asked some service users I knew whether they would like to start the country's first self-advocacy group. They agreed and since then the group has grown and developed new networks. The group has also received some financial and practical support from the biggest parents organization for people with learning disabilities in the Czech Republic. A number of conferences have been organized by self-advocates, including one at the Czech Republic Parliament. Other people are now starting to take notice of what self-advocates are saying. Support for self-advocacy is an important issue for its future in the Czech Republic.

In the Czech Republic, individuals with intellectual disabilities continue to be institutionalized in large, remote, state-run institutions and as a result are isolated from community interaction. Some practices associated with these institutions are coming to be seen as human rights violations. Although non-governmental organizations (NGOs) offer alternatives to institutionalization, demand for such services exceeds supply. Czech legal structure hinders NGO funding. Large state institutions continue to be built. (Contains 4 notes.)