Where is the student now? Where do you want him to be? Given the sub-skill you selected within your task analysis (your starting point for instruction), how can you shape this behavior into a practical skill for the future?
Some individuals have moved through school and life without feeling as though they have many choices – everything is arranged and scheduled for them in such a way that they may have developed learned helplessness. For such students, be sure that all key stakeholders are arranging and clearly conveying choices to the individual whenever possible. Though not explicitly addressed in the task analysis section, an individual who is provided with choices and who feels as though he has the power to choose at times, is more likely to develop key self-advocacy behaviors.
Think about the individual who does whatever you ask of him, all of the time. While this individual is very pleasant to work with, are they ever in the “driver’s seat” and do they realize that they have some power and control over their life? For some individuals who rarely express their needs and wants (despite having the capability to verbally express), you might start by targeting initiations related to very concrete and tangible needs and wants (e.g., I want to sit in this desk rather than that desk; I need a water break; I want to do Algebra first, then English homework). Over time, shift focus to support their 1. labeling of a need that is less tangible and more complex (e.g., I am about to take a test and I have separate setting as an accommodation on my IEP) and 2. communication of that need (e.g., quietly signaling to the teacher that I am leaving the classroom now to go to my separate setting). These self-advocacy behaviors should be cultivated and shaped very early in a student’s career in order for him to be expected to apply such behaviors in post-secondary and work environments.
Consider step 4 in the self-advocacy process: “Participate in the solution to take care of the need.” When working with some students, it may seem that you (as the educator, job coach, parent, etc.) are doing most of the “work” to achieve the solution. Perhaps the individual is not meeting you halfway, or even 5% of the way. For instance, let’s say that the student missed a day of school and needs to obtain class notes (an expected accommodation on his IEP). At this point in time, the student is not likely to go to see any of his teachers after class to obtain these notes, which means that you might have to do this work on his behalf. Clearly, your goal is to successively increase (shape) the student’s self-advocacy behaviors so that he is doing more and more of the work to achieve the solution. Your starting point might be that he takes one clearly defined step (e.g., send an email to one teacher), and you take nine steps to achieve the solution. Then, he takes two clearly defined steps and you take eight, and so on.
Your starting point might be here:
What visual supports will you use to help the student rehearse the expected self-advocacy behavior?
Consider again the 4-step process of self-advocacy that is described in the task analysis section -
1. Visual supports that might be used to help the student identify / label the strength, need, and/or problem in a given context:
2. Visual supports that might help the student to define who to go to if help is needed, and then initiate the request for help.
3. Visual supports that might help the student to label the solution.
4. Visual supports that will help the student to participate in the solution to take care of the need.
What type of prompting might you need to provide in the initial learning phase?
Modeling of the targeted self-advocacy behavior will be necessary. When you model the behavior, label what you do. Then encourage the student to verbally label the expected behavior when he sees it. Guide him through verbal prompts and demonstration in performing those behaviors. Model use of any visual supports that are in place to build and sustain that behavior. For example, if the targeted behavior is that the student make a verbal or written request for a certain accommodation (one that he has been afforded according to his individualized plan), then model how you refer to the script or visual cue that identifies what to say and do.
What is your plan for systematically and quickly fading out your prompting? How do you time and fade the prompt to support the student in initiating the target behavior?
It is important to note that you cannot effectively fade prompts unless you arrange multiple practice opportunities across which these prompts can be faded. Fading happens gradually and systematically. Fully prompting the student through the only practice opportunity on day 1, and then expecting him to perform with minimal or no prompting on day 2 is not realistic. As you issue verbal and modeling prompts to support the student in performing a self-advocacy behavior, direct the student’s attention to the visual supports that illustrate what you are modeling. As the student attends to these supports (e.g., the scripts, the reminder cues), use less intrusive prompts (gestures to the visual supports and partial verbal prompts – one word or phrase instead of the whole sentence), until you are able to fade those prompts out completely.
Are you arranging frequent practice opportunities to build fluency through repetition?
What steps do you need to take to ensure that everyone targeting that skill applies the same level of prompting and fades it out at the same rate to support initiation by the student?