For most of a student’s life, parents and staff have probably been advocating for the student– making decisions for him or her. However, as individuals with disabilities get older, they will need to advocate for themselves to the best of their ability. Helping adolescents to develop a sense of self will not only aid in the transition process, but will also help to develop a skill that will benefit their entire lives!
Self-Advocacy is:
•speaking up for yourself
•asking for what you need
•negotiating for yourself
•knowing your rights and responsibilities
•using the resources that are available to you
•being able to explain your disability either by the use of written words, pictures or gestures.
When helping individuals to learn self-advocacy skills, both parents and educators can and should still assist them in decision making by helping to explain things, and guide them. Teaching self-advocacy skills will be a process, and it will take time to acquire these skills.
There are many opportunities for teaching self-advocacy skills throughout the day. It starts with making choices – choices for meals, choices for leisure activities, even choices for which chores to do around the house. You may want to consider the following ways to further promote an individual’s preferences as well as his or her ability to be more independent:
Timing of events – choosing when to get up, when to go to bed at night, when to get a haircut or when to eat dinner.
Personal choices – choosing what clothes to wear, what shampoo to buy or which cereal to eat.
Methods of training – choosing where learning will occur or who will provide the support. ex: do you want to work at home or at the library?
Staff evaluations – through interviews with individuals who are supported by staff or through observations of staff relationships with individuals
Hiring of staff – asking individuals to serve on hiring committees.
It is never too early to begin to teach self-advocacy skills. For more information on this and other transition topics click on the blue title to visit the Autism Speaks Transition Page.
