Disabled and non-disabled: allied together to change the system

There is an ongoing debate as to what should be the role of the non-disabled in disability policy formulation and implementation, service delivery, program evaluation, and the promotion of the rights of people with disabilities. Ally is a term that can be used to describe non-disabled people or those with non-disclosed, invisible disabilities who actively work to change the system in order to create an environment so that self-determination by people with disabilities can occur. This article presents a case example of an allied relationship which has supported the political and programmatic successes of the Virginia Council on Assistive Technology. Within this discussion is an acknowledgment of the natural tensions which exist when allies within a bureaucracy promote self-determination of its consumers.