Robert is a homemaker, Self Advocacy Spokesperson, Board Member of the NSW Council on Intellectual Disability, Board Member of Citizen Advocacy – Western Sydney and a Member of the Intellectual Disability Rights Service. Julie is a Senior Advocacy Educator with Self Advocacy Sydney. Robert and Julie come from very different backgrounds. Robert lived in a state-run institution – which housed people with a variety of disabilities – from the age of 3 1/2 – 18. Julie grew up in a supportive family environment. They met in 1987 at Nambucca Heads when Robert was running a Self Advocacy Conference with a group of people with intellectual disability. They had a very long courtship and had a long distance relationship for 2 years which ran up some pretty big phone bills! Robert says that Julie was a very quiet person when they met. Oh, how things have changed! Both Robert and Julie have an intellectual disability