Abstract
This paper has focused on the history of the origins and development of the National Association for the help of the mentally handicapped in 1969 to the present. It refers to the fact that the parents of these children played and play crucial role in its activities.
After 1989, conditions were created for the development of the civil society and guarantees for its free functioning. And so dozens of other non-profit organizations for the benefit of people with intellectual disabilities were created, which were inspired by foreign experience.
The author emphasizes that self-help organizations define the ethical framework in which in the broader social context the respect has been shaped for the rights of people with disabilities.