Anffas was founded in Rome on 28 March 1958 by a group of parents who had kids with intellectual disabilities. They gathered around a mum: Maria Luisa Ubershag Menogotto. At that time, people with disabilities, especially intellectual ones, and their families lived a tragic situation, surrounded by a climate of pity and ghettoisation, benefitting almost only from fragmentary charity initiatives and essentially being left alone, without support or opportunities. Emarginated from school, work and society, the destiny of many of them was to spend a sad life with little dignity, often segregated in large psychiatric hospitals.

During November 2000, the Association, which up to that moment has always been an unitary structure, composed by 195 sections distributed on the entire National territory, decided a statutory modification which brings the sections to transform into autonomous local Associations, constituting the new Associative basis of National Anffas and Regional coordinations.

In view of this, Anffas Parma,born in 1966, as a section of National Anffas, provided in January 2002 to transform itself in an Association denominated Anffas of Parma ONLUS with its own legal autonomy but keeping the associative bond with National Anffas, and in January 2023 entering in the Registro Unico Nazionale degli Enti del Terzo Settore (RUNTS) further changed into ANffAS Parma APS – Associazione Locale di Famiglie e Persone con Disabilità Intellettiva e Disturbi del Neurosviluppo

The Associates of Anffas Parma are mainly parents and family members of people with disabilities, but also friends. All of them have in common the awareness of problems linked to social inclusion, maintaining psycho-physical skills and the distressing ‘After Us’ problem

During these 60 years, the work done by Anffas has been constant and insisting, full of law proposals, signature collection, public demonstrations, self-organisation and service management. These labours brought to great accomplishments for acknowledging the rights of people with disabilities and their family members. These acknowledgements would hardly have been obtained, without Anffas families. A lot remains to be done and nowadays, these accomplishments are increasingly questioned.

In the recent story of the Association , there is an important reflection on self-determination and self-representation , which represent a fundamental
right of people with disabilities. To make this right due, it is necessary to give the right, adequate support to all people with intellectual disabilities.

UN CONVENTION AND ANFFAS THINKING

UN convention is, for the entire movement of People with Disabilities and those who represent them, the reference framework and central paradigm to which inspire thoughts, policies and actions. That’s why its principle completely permeate the ‘ANffAS Thought’. The principles of non-discrimination, respect for human dignity, autonomy and people’s independence; participation and inclusion in society; same opportunities; accessibility; men and women equality have been in fact at the heart of our​ Association’s thinking for years. ANffAS challenge is that of being more and more protagonist in the path which must bring to the affirmation of a disability model based on human rights and full social inclusion of people with disabilities , acting as an push and stimulus towards the outside, but at the same time reading and re-reading critically and with great attention its own work in the light of the Convention.

An easy to read manual on CRPD: why?

(a) Make available to persons with disabilities information intended for the general public in accessible forms through technologies adapted to different types of disabilities, in a timely manner and at no additional cost;

(b) accepting and facilitating in official activities the use by persons with disabilities of sign language, Braille, augmentative and alternative communications and any other accessible means, modalities and systems of communication of their choice

(c) to require private entities offering services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services with accessible and usable systems for persons with disabilities

d) encourage the media, including providers of information through the internet, to make their services accessible topersons with disabilities

(e) recognise and promote the use of sign language.’

Article 23 – Freedom of expression and opinion and access to information – UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
As highlighted above, the Convention itself reaffirms the right of all People with Disabilities (included those with intellectual and/or relation Disability and with neurodevelopmental disorders) to have access to information and communication, in addition to lifelong education and training for the entire life arc and to take part also in first person to social, public and political life.