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Following a
shift of orientation in the 1980s (see the page Our History in the section
About us), the AQPPT decided to take action to promote and defend the
rights of little people. Its actions are at several distinct and
complementary levels.
The
Association supports little people individually* and collectively to
have them recognized as disabled persons, particularly
by governments and institutions. It works to have the rights of little
people recognized by law or to see that the law is fully implemented,
if those rights have already been recognized. For instance: little
people will often be denied the special parking sticker for disabled
persons. In order to make known the plight of people with dwarfism and
of their parents, the AQPPT meets representatives from the SAAQ (Quebec
Automobile Insurance Board).
The
Association is involved in various associations that defend the rights
of persons with disabilities. Thus, the AQPPT is
member of several groups including COPHAN (Confédération des organismes
de personnes handicapées du Québec (www.cophan.org). By participating
in various committees on various topics, the AQPPT shows its solidarity
with various social issues such as:
- Inclusion,
that is, the universal accessibility, the duty to accommodate, etc.
- Compensation
of all costs associated with functional limitations (disabled persons
themselves should not have to pay for these costs).
- Recognition
of the expertise of persons with disabilities about their situation.
Through all
its actions, the AQPPT is working to end prejudice and
improve the image of people with dwarfism. In fact,
"dwarfs" are too often associated with mythology, fiction, and
superstition (lucky charm, Santa's elves, characters of fairy tales,
etc.) Therefore, we prefer to use the term little people, thus
emphasizing the fact that individuals with dwarfism are people.
In this sense, the AQPPT ensures respect for little people and fights
against any form of discrimination or degrading attitude.
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