Article - Steps To Becomming A Self-Advocate In A Post Secondary Setting

February 2, 1999

STEPS TO BECOMING A SELF-ADVOCATE
IN A POST SECONDARY SETTING

Each student should be taught about the disability in general, as well as how he/she is affected by the disability.
Each student should understand the disability and be able to understand and counter each disability with a strength.
Each student should be able to succinctly articulate each aspect of the disability and enumerate one strength to counter each part of the disability.
Each student should be an active participant in IEP and/or 504 meetings from the 5th grade on.
Each student should have his/her own copy of the IEP and/or 504 Educational Plan in a plastic cover in the three ring notebook.
In private, using eye contact, a quiet firm voice, and an "I" statement, each student should be able to explain the accommodation that the teacher has not done, forgotten or forbidden.
Each student should be prepared to share concerns with the IEP Case Manager- 504 Supervisor- and parents. Make certain that your Transition Plan is college appropriate. Make certain that you take "college prep" courses if you want to go to college, appropriate courses if you want to go to vocational school.
At the end of the sophomore year begin the process for college testing. Any modifications for SAT or ACT testing will have to be documented in the testing, and reporting, and must be based on need as demonstrated by test scores. The diagnostician's qualifications will need to be documented.
During the senior year in high school, each student should prepare a 504 Plan for a Post-Secondary setting, with complete documentation including documentation of the diagnostician's credentials. Visit the campus; don't believe what you read! Present your accommodation plan to the 504 official on campus. Note: New guidelines from AHEAD state that each accommodation must be supported by the test results and diagnostician recommendations.
From age 18 on, you are expected to be your own advocate! The student should keep and maintain a three ring notebook with the latest documentation and a copy of all previous IEP's and 504/ADA Plans. Understand that accommodations are to be negotiated and you may have to negotiate the accommodations with each professor, individually.
Get as much remediation as you can before college. College professors are not equipped to teach basic skills. Balance your course load! Take the minimum number of credits the first year. Be prepared to take summer school, an extra semester or extra year!
If one cannot be his/her own advocate, the student should hire a professional advocate who knows both the disability and the field of education. Both the student and the advocate should work very closely with each other and also with the Student Disability Resource Center Staff. Use every service the school has to offer.
Denial of ones own learning disability/ADHD is a serious problem, especially in a Post Secondary situation. Be aware that denial will cost thousands of dollars and huge amounts of lost self-esteem and credibility. Join a disabilities support group. Monitor your grades and credits. Don't let failing grades sneak up on you! Use your Planner!

RESOURCES: Transitions to Postsecondary Learning Self-advocacy Handbook, Eaton and Coull, 1-49 copies, $7.95 each plus 10% S&H. Eaton and Coull Learning Group, 3541 West 16th Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6R 3C2, 1-800-933-4063

Knowing Myself, Knowing My Needs: Keys to Becoming a Self-advocate in a Post Secondary Setting, $7.50 inclusive, from ECM, Inc., 13835 Edgewood Ave.,
Savage, MN 55378 (785) 845-6876, (612) 247-4057

Steps to Insure a Smooth Start in College or Vocational School for the Student with Dyslexia and other Learning Disabilities, $7.50 inclusive, from ECM, Inc.

Permission to reproduce this article is hereby granted, CWA.