Indicator 4: AT Self-Advocacy

Self-Advocacy skills allow you to take a leadership role in your IEP planning and eventually with needed departments on campus. Applying your self-advocacy skills to your AT means you know what AT you need, what you are entitled to, and how you can effectively receive it.

Breaking It Down

Who advocates for me now?
Who advocates with me?
When am I good at standing up for myself?
When is it still uncomfortable or hard for me to stand up for myself?

Video: 10 Tips to Build Self-Advocacy

Have A Conversation with Your Case Manager And Parents

What more can I be doing to advocate for myself?
What skills can I develop to reach my goals in college?
What AT could I explore to help me?

Think About Your Goal

Right now I want to be able to: ______________________________________.
I’m excited about college and want to ask about _____________________ on a college visit.

In the long term, I’d love to have a job doing____________________.

Resources

10 Ways to Involve Youth in Their IEPs – An article by a special education teacher with creative ideas on getting students involved in their IEPs to build self-advocacy skills.
Hey Can I Try That? – A free, downloadable student handbook for choosing and using assistive technology to maximum student input by Gayl Bowser and Penny Reed.
Checklist: What to Ask Colleges About Assistive Technology – A checklist from Understood.org for students to ask prospective colleges what AT services are available on campus.
Advocacy Toolkit: Skills and Strategies for Effective Self-Advocacy – A comprehensive guide from the Disability Rights Wisconsin to training people with disabilities and their families to help build and support strong advocacy skills.