In the UK, self-advocacy, which followed years of parents' and professionals' advocacy on behalf of people with learning disabilities, is said to have started in 1984 with funding of People First London Boroughs following the attendance of a small number of learning-disabled people at and international conference held in the US.In the late 1980s, the concept of self-advocacy gained acceptance in influential circles, due to the work of organizations such as Kings Fund, and in the arts, academia and publishing world due to the work of organizations like Yorkshire Arts Circus and academics. Self-advocacy started to attract serious studies, one of the most notable being Ken Simons’ "Sticking up for Ourselves".