How To Best Help Your Child Become Their Own Self-Advocate
Amanda Ziemer School Counselor Parker Core Knowledge Charter
School
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What is Self Advocacy? It means taking the responsibility for
communicating ones needs and desires in a straight-forward manner
to others. It is a set of skills that includes: Speaking up for
yourself Communicating your strengths, needs and wishes Being able
to listen to the opinions of others, even when their opinions
differ from yours Having a sense of self-respect Taking
responsibility for yourself Knowing your rights Knowing where to
get help or who to go to with a question or concern
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Why Is This Important? Teaching your child self advocacy skills
early on provides him or her with an opportunity to learn and
practice important life skills. Some advantages your child may gain
after learning these skills include: Practicing goal setting Become
more self-aware (having a better understanding of who they are, and
where their individual strengths and weakness lie) Building
teamwork skills Developing an ability to speak up for himself or
herself Participating in a process of resolving differences Gain
essential skills necessary for post secondary educatiand
adulthood
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How To Teach These Skills To Your Child It is never too early
to start teaching your child how he or she can advocate for himself
or herself. Like many other important life skills, self-advocacy is
a critical tool your child needs in order to achieve goals,
increase self sufficiency, and become a successful young adult. It
is a life long process that begins with your child learning by
watching you, as a parent, be a good advocate.
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Where To Start Some questions you may want to discuss with your
son or daughter include: What do you want to learn or work on this
year? What are your special concerns for the school year? How do
you learn the best? What do you need to be successful? What would
make learning easier for you? What do you wish your teacher and
other school staff would understand about you?
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What If My Child Is On An Individual Education Plan (IEP)?
Involving your child in the IEP process is the best way for them to
fully understand what their IEP is all about and to practice
self-advocacy skills with adults.
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Introducing him or herself Writing down ideas, questions, and
concerns before the IEP meeting Rehearsing what he or she wants to
say in the IEP meeting Talking about his or her interest strengths,
and desires for the future Explaining his or her disability to the
team Leading all or part of the IEP meeting Helping the team
develop IEP goal areas Asking for explanations if he or she doesnt
understand something Reviewing what the team has agreed to at the
end of the meeting If Your Child Has an IEP Some ways for your
child to be involved in their IEP meeting are not limited to, but
include:
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Other Recommendations That Will Help Promote Self Advocacy In
Our Children Self advocacy skills training be implemented into the
curriculum beginning in elementary Students should learn about
their weaknesses and strengths (One way for them to do this is
having them take a Cognitive Process Inventory (CPI)) Students
should know what the whole IEP process is about and be encouraged
to participate in developing their personal IEP Adolescents should
have the opportunity to take a course in self advocacy/self
determination their 9th grade year or earlier if possible
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Sometimes, the growth and increased knowledge that come from
self- advocacy are more powerful than the fairness of the solution.
Deborah McCarthy Student affairs administrator in the Services for
Students with Disabilities Office at The University of Texas at
Austin. Born with Cerebral Palsy.
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References (2004). How You Can Help Your Child Learn To Be A
Good Self Advocate. Action Information Sheets. Retrieved from
http.//www.pacer.org/parent/PHP-c95.pdf. Fasset, D.R. (2002). How
Can I Help Myself? Self Knowledge, Self Advocacy, and Academic
Success. 38-43. McCarthy, D. (2007). Teaching Self Advocacy to
Students with Disabilities. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 14-15. doi:
10/.1002/abc.225