I read an article today that discussed the teaching of self-advocacy skills to students with disabilities (SWD). I am particularly interested in this topic as it relates to students with hearing loss. In the past and even in some cases now, in the field of special education, teachers have total and full control and SWD are passive learners. Our SWD move through the ranks of schooling being dependent on teachers, support staff, and parents. They rely on these figures to make decisions, evaluate performance, and serve as their advocates (Merchant and Gajar, 1997).
Some may oppose the teaching of self-advocacy skills to SWD because they believe that the educational planning process is too complex for the children to participate in or understand. As I continued to read this article, I realized that special education teachers need to “buy in” to the fact that teaching of self-advocacy skills is a worthwhile contribution to the schooling of SWD to promote and foster independence upon graduation from school. What will happen to our students if they are coddled and not expected to fend for themselves during their schooling once they step outside those doors upon graduation and enter the “real world”? We need to start teaching self-advocacy skills to our students and need to do so early..rather than waiting until they are at a transition age (usually between 14 and 16 years old). The authors used the analogy of someone wearing a life jacket in the pool for 12 years. Upon removing the life jacket, we would not expect that person to know how to swim within minutes. We need to be helping our students to be swimmers so as to not drown!
In thinking of self-advocacy skills for our students with disabilities, we need to be sure to understand that students must be aware of their own interests and preferences before they can advocate for them. Knowledge of rights empowers the student to advocate for needed services and accommodations. We also need to be sure to provide several different opportunities for students to use self-advocacy skills so they can generalize these newly acquired skills to multiple circumstances and settings.
One of the strategies to teach self-advocacy skills the authors focused on was the idea of student-led IEPs. I was drawn to this concept since I had done this with some of my former students. I first started having my students attend their IEP meetings and help run the meeting at the vocational education school where I taught due to the nature of the meeting and school. After seeing how successful the students in that setting were in explaining their learning needs and interpreting their IEP, I began to incorporate having student-led IEP meetings at the high schools where I taught. Even some of my middle schoolers appreciated the student-led approach to the IEP meetings.
I noticed a difference in my students who participated in student-led IEP meetings in many areas. They were more proactive in terms of seeking assistance from their teachers when they needed it, they understood why we did the activities and lessons we did in our Deaf/Hard of Hearing Support sessions, and they were motivated to improve their grades, just to name a few of the changes. I also noticed that there was a general positive vibe about the IEP meeting with the presence of the student. While the weaknesses were still discussed, as well as the needs and challenges that needed to be addressed in the IEP, the tone and wording around these items were more positive. It should also be mentioned that a student-led IEP, in my experience, took longer than a meeting that would have been held without the student being present. However, I feel that the student-led IEP meeting forced the team to look at the issues and paperwork more intensely so I feel the advantages outweighed the negatives in this case.
Last, but not least, this is my hand-drawn copy of two figures that were in the article I read today. I think the Venn Diagrams show nicely how the team is more balanced and inclusive when using the student-led IEP meeting approach.
Fiedler, C. R. & Danneker, J. E. (2007). Self-advocacy instruction: Bridging the research-to-practice gap. Focus on Exceptional Children, 39, 1-20.
Merchant, D.J., & Gajar, A. (1997). A review of the literature on self advocacy components in transition programs for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 8, 223-231.
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