Steps for Teens to Take to Learn Self Advocacy

Related: Management, Parents, More TagsChildren with Learning Disabilities, School, Fewer Tags

by Eileen Bailey
Friday, November 21, 2008

When someone has a learning disability, he or she may require extra assistance, modifications or accommodations during high school and beyond. When children are younger, parents are often the ones who work with teachers and other school personnel to develop a plan to help the child succeed. However, as adults, you must learn to be your own advocate, in college or in the workplace. The teen years are important, therefore, in learning self-advocacy.

The following are steps you can take to help ready you for the transition into adulthood:

Learn about your diagnosis. Understand what your learning disability and what it means. How does your LD impact both your learning and your daily life? Are there specific learning strategies that work best for you? Do you need visual cues or could you benefit from having a note taker or taping classes? What is your learning style? Understanding your LD and what accommodations have worked for you in the past can help you in college and in the workplace. This information can help you decide which modifications and accommodations you would like to see implemented in the future.

Begin attending IEP meetings. Each year, an IEP team meets to discuss your progress and which accommodations/modifications need to be continued, which can be removed from your IEP and if there are additional suggestions or accommodations needed to help you succeed. In the past, your parents probably attended this meeting. Additional school personnel, such as teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and school psychologists probably were in the meeting as well. Once you reach high school, you should request to be included in these meetings. For the first one or two meetings, you may just want to listen and may not feel comfortable contributing much. As you become more comfortable, you can increase your input and discuss what has worked and what has not worked. These meetings will help prepare you for meeting with college counselors or your bosses in the future.

Think about your goals for the future. Shat do you want to accomplish in your life. Do you want to go to college or are you planning to go directly to work? Do you know what career you would like to pursue? Think about your short-term goals as well as your long-term goals. Write down your goals, this can help put them in perspective and help you to figure out the steps you must take to reach your goals.

Meet with teachers if you are having problems. Becoming an advocate for yourself means you will need to solve problems as they arise. If you find yourself slipping in a class or are having problems keeping up, ask your teacher to meet with you after class to discuss your concerns and help you find solutions.

Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has different strengths. Understanding your strengths will help you work on your goals and may help in determining your career choice. Choosing a career which will build on your strengths will increase your chances of success. Understanding your weaknesses will help you make plans to compensate. Talking about your weaknesses is not an exercise in finding everything you are doing wrong, but is meant to understand which areas you can change around and develop into strengths. This can also help you in determining if there are certain areas you may need extra assistance.