How can you connect this new skill to the student’s priorities? How can you assure ownership by making the development of this skill the student’s goal rather than just your goal for the student?
In order to self-advocate, the student first has to recognize that there is a need or issue and he has to want to resolve the issue. With regards to recognition of strengths, the student has to first recognize his strength in a particular area and then want to use that strength to achieve a particular goal. Support him in recognizing the issue using his language and his basic conceptualization of the problem. Capitalize on his desire to make the situation better, to address the need, to feel more comfortable, to do better in class, etc. in order to formulate a goal that is presented using his words and ideas. Also crucial is that the student participates in the solution that addresses the problem (step 4), rather than you totally “fixing” it for him. His participation (no matter how minimal in initial stages) helps him to take ownership over the goal, the solution.
As you introduce this skill, how will you incorporate (visually, thematically) the student’s unique interests?
If the student has a goal for his future that involves working in a certain field related to his primary interest, (e.g. working in a veterinary hospital if he is interested in animals) the instructor can use this interest to help the student recognize what skills he already has and what skills he will need to achieve his personal goal. This can be an excellent way to teach the importance of the student recognizing their strengths and weaknesses and advocating for what they may need to achieve their goal.
If the student has a strong interest in a particular character (real or fictional), you might introduce the concept of strengths and relative weaknesses by engaging the student in an activity where you visually “map out” that character’s strengths and weaknesses. What sort of career or activities did that character pursue? – those that allowed him to apply his strengths and interests. In areas where he had relative weaknesses, what did the character do to manage or accommodate for those weaknesses? What careers or activities did the character avoid? – those that did not allow him to apply many of his strengths.
Can you make it visually clear to the student who is resistant to change that his assumption is only one way of looking at things? Can your use of visual supports and self-assessments help get agreement that there is a problem, get agreement on the solution, and create the motivation for change?
Helping the student to recognize his challenges or strengths is not always easy. The student may not agree with what the instructor sees as his challenges or may not recognize when things are difficult for him. He also may not appreciate what others see as his strengths – what is “valuable” to you might not be “valuable” to him. As indicated previously, the way to cultivate accurate self-awareness is by providing actual opportunities that allow the student to explore his interests, strengths, and needs. Following such experiences, self-assessment tools, instructor assessments (e.g., assessments that match the self-assessments, vocational assessments, results from informal classroom assessments delivered in terms the student can understand, data on IEP objectives delivered in terms the student can understand, formal evaluation information delivered appropriately and in terms the student can understand, etc.), graphic organizers, and social narratives can be used more effectively to shift perspective and promote self-awareness.
Priming is a form of negotiation that can reframe and sharpen a student’s assessment of self. Below are the self-assessment tools and instructor assessments that align with this intervention topic:
The student may require instruction to identify and regulate his responses to certain environmental stressors, anxiety triggers, and anger triggers. In many cases, it is crucial that he can advocate for himself in order to avoid certain environments where such triggers are overwhelming. For this reason, you may also consider the following self-assessments to support proactive identification of these triggers:
"Self-Regulation - Identifying Stressors 1"
Consider the self-assessments within many other areas of Career Planning, Job Seeking and Job Keeping as well (e.g., career domain interests and strengths, interviewing skills, social communication skills, organizational skills). As you support the student in more accurately identifying a strength or need in any of those areas, he can then more effectively advocate for activities and experiences that capitalize on his strengths and advocate for support in areas of need. In this way, you are working to build the capacity for self-determination within the student. As noted earlier, self-advocacy is one of the main “building blocks” of self-determination.
Interspersal is a proven technique involving the presentation of familiar, higher success tasks with the new, more challenging task. When it is appropriate, are you varying the activities to maintain the student’s confidence and focus?
For example, if your objective is to familiarize the student better with what happens during an IEP or 504 meeting so that he can participate in such a meeting, break up your instruction into manageable parts. Describe and role-play one aspect of the meeting, presenting any pages/documents that correspond to that part of the meeting (e.g., area where parent/caregiver shares concerns; discussion of one social communication goal). Provide opportunities for the student to take breaks, and to engage in other activities not related to this topic. If you try to address every aspect of the IEP meeting in one instructional session, you are likely to overwhelm the student.
As you target self-advocacy behaviors (e.g., verbal participation in the IEP meeting; request for accommodations; communication of strengths), intersperse opportunities for the student to perform the skill with opportunities for him to observe someone else perform the skill and to label what he sees.
How do you orient the student to the upcoming situation where self-advocacy will be required?
For example, before the student enters an IEP meeting or any other meeting where his strengths, needs, and goals may be discussed, be sure to prime him by showing him where the meeting will take place, clarify who will be there, how long the meeting may last, etc. This will help to lower any anxiety the student may be feeling about the upcoming situation. Role-play priming sessions will also be crucial here. Review familiar visual supports with the student such as scripts, cue cards, and worksheets that have been used to build and sustain the self-advocacy behaviors that are likely to promote his participation in this meeting. He can take some of these supports into the meeting as well.
As another example, consider the student in the classroom or the employee in the workplace who has been afforded certain accommodations. However, if the educator/employer forgets to provide the accommodation, the individual does not say anything. In this case, it is important to prime him prior to situations where he is likely to need to self-advocate for his accommodations (e.g., just before a test, when a new supervisor comes to the workplace to fill in that day, when a substitute teacher is working in the classroom that day, etc.). Rehearsal supported by scripts and visual cues will be necessary to prime the individual for these kinds of situations.