Activity 5
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Overview
Self-Advocacy
Introduction
Overview and Rationale
Getting Started
Resources
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Activity 5
Activities 6 - 7
Activities 8 - 9
Assistive Technology
Planning for College
Applying to College
Disability Services
Adult Services
Arrange for an Accommodation with Support
What Students Do
Students review what they have learned about their disability, the learning limitations that may result, and common accommodations used in college to provide access to instruction. Based on this review, they select one or more accommodation that they believe would be helpful to them and with your assistance or that of a counselor make arrangements to try it out in classes. This activity is designed to have the student focus on the relationship between what they are learning about themselves and what can reasonably be done about it. By using you as a mediator with the general education teacher, the student is relieved (for now) of the need to advocate for his/her needs. The self-advocacy element will be introduced in Activities 8 and 9.Planning
If you have not done so already, this is a good time to inform your fellow teachers of the Post-ITT Activities. Tell them that your students are learning to use accommodations and that you will be assisting them with their requests. Answer their questions about the process as well as the appropriateness of the accommodations. Emphasize that the use of accommodations is to provide access to their curriculum and and not an advantage over other students.
Introducing the Activity
Begin by reviewing the definition of accommodation, and then lead students in a discussion of how their disabilities have been accommodated. Ask about commonly used accommodations in high school. Find out what they are familiar with. Ask the students how they would feel using these accommodations. Recognize that, in high school, just fitting-in is often the student’s main goal. Using an accommodation may not fit well with that goal. Discuss how their teacher might feel about the accommodation. An effective self-advocate needs to understand the impact of an accommodation on others as well as on him/herself.
Allow and encourage students to try out their accommodation in a staged environment. Simulate the class structure where they will be using the accommodation. Request that the student focus on how they feel using the accommodation as well as how effective it was. Remember that some types of accommodation (examples include taped texts and text to speech assistive technology) take some time to learn.