Self Advocacy In Education

The right of entry to education resources is more than uncomplicated admission to a college. The right to use means to provide students with the devices they will need to be victorious in higher learning. Students with a recognized disability ought to be no omission. In reality, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, “ensure that all qualified persons have equal access to education regardless of the presence of any disability.” Objective replacement, class waivers, and revision of classroom management, testing and course necessities are all illustrations of behavior to supply access for the learner with a disability. A break down to the creation of such practical adjustments can place schools in breach of federal and state statutes, ensuing expensive fines.

Advocating does not mean for their disability, but more for all your education purposes. Advocating and responsibilities are interchangeable words. A student's responsibilities are being prepared with right materials in class, “attending class every day and on time, remaining quiet and on task”, completing all assignments in a timely matter, and talking to the teacher about questions and concerns regarding the classroom (The Role of the Student). Professors do not give you study guides and print out of the notes, students need to write down the notes. Their notes will be that study for the test and finals. Freshman year students understanding that they do not need to take a full load of classes, because eventually there will be the lack of sleep and contraction in all the classes. Also students know that attending class is not optional, the day that they miss could be important. The most important advice for any college student is “Never miss class” (What Every Student Needs to Know). Freshman year college students are understanding their roles better, but still do not know being successful for their first year of college can make a difference for the rest of their college

The importance of school completion in the transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary life has received considerable attention (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). However, it appears that students with disabilities do not fare well in their lives beyond high school in terms of employment or postsecondary education (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Most students who drop out of school because of a disability often find it hard to find a job then does their peers getting a high school diploma.

Sanson (2005, p. 3) believes that when it comes to accommodating students with disabilities, scientists, practitioners, and politicians are necessary to the process as a whole and communication between these individuals is essentia.

Over the course of this semester, I have come to the realization that above all, students with disabilities need to be treated with the respect and dignity that one would give any other child. This is why it is important to talk to and about people that have disabilities with “people first” language (Evans, Civil Rights Final Day, 9.17.16). This stems from the idea that a perceived disability is just one of a person’s many attributes. Students with disabilities are people that have individual abilities, interests, and needs. By using “people first” language, one emphasizes the importance of the individual over their diagnosed disability. According to The Arc, an organization that advocates for people with disabilities, “the language in a society used to refer to persons with disabilities shapes its beliefs and ideas about them” (The Arc, 2016). Using “people first” language not only ensures the person in question knows that they are valued, but it also helps set a precedent for the perception of people with disabilities in one’s environment. It also gives the student the opportunity to define his/herself, instead of being identified solely with their disability (The Arc, 2016).

As Martin (2015) stated, “issues on college campus are virtually invisible due to the absence of dialogue about, and programs to address, student disparity in regard to social class” (p. 472). Students with disabilities who also come from a low socioeconomic status (SES) may be at an additional disadvantage in their fight for accommodations. At most colleges and universities, student disability centers require multiple doctor notes, letters, and copies of tests to establish one’s “disability identity” to receive an accommodation. However, these visits to doctors and specialists can be very costly and time-consuming. These students may not be able to afford all the doctor visits or have the time due to working jobs, or their parents working jobs and not being able to research the correct practitioners. As Martin (2015) stated, “Students from low SES background[s] who matriculate into higher education continue to be at a disadvantage compared to their peers from higher SES backgrounds” (p. 472). As professionals, we must remember this crucial intersection of identities. Working in higher education, we may be able to connect student to resources, such as financial services, or waive the

provide the appropriate transition service to all students with disabilities; applying numerous and challenging programs and strategies. “Students learn to manage their time and money, network with professionals, and prioritize work and school assignments”. Besides, the executive director state that these training motivate and prepare students to insert into society, learning a trade and receiving a salary for their efforts; understanding the meaning of the work, developing social skills, adopting appropriate behaviors, and adequate work’s habits (Virtual Job Shadow, 2016).

Students with disabilities may require accommodations in order to find success. Some accommodations may include additional time to complete assignments and/or assessments, oral presentation of content or instructions, or allowing the student to type work vs. writing it. Accommodations must be individualized and reasonable based on the needs of the student.

For my transition interview I interviewed Susan Nixon, who is the coordinator of learning and programming at Old Dominion University. Her job entails helping students with disabilities transition from high school to college. When students with disabilities are in high school they have an IEP or 504 to help them. However, when they come to college they no longer have an IEP, they become protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. During my interview with Ms. Nixon, she pointed out how there’s no transition plan for post-college and into the work force. So, she feels it’s extremely helpful for students with disabilities to become self-advocates while in college.

Having a history of a 504 plan in a K-12 school does not automatically qualify one for an educational accommodation in college (Alao, 2015). Many students with disabilities are caught by surprise when they discover their IEP is not enough to warrant eligibility for the needed academic accommodations and academic services within the higher education institution (Essex, 2012). According to A. Capolupo (personal communication, February 17, 2017) new students also lack the awareness of the level of commitment college takes. The changes in disability related mandates during the transition from high school to college creates barriers, this causes significant distress for students, families, and instructors. Two significant barriers identified by Senior (2016) are the responsibilities related to the disability shift from staff/faculty to the student and vagueness found within legal protections lead to inconsistencies among Disability Offices (pp. 13-14). The shift in responsibility from staff/faculty to the student is what I have identified as my “Issue Assessment.”

A third journal article, Successful Strategies for Promoting Self-Advocacy Among Students with Learning Disabilities (2002), analyzed various strategies used to help students learn to advocate for themselves. According to Pocock et al. (2002) “self-advocacy typically focuses on the knowledge of rights and responsibilities, effective communication and negotiation skills, identifying and requesting accommodations and modifications, and instruction on participating or directing an IEP meeting” (p. 210). There are many skills that self-advocacy encompasses and with these skills, students with learning disabilities can apply them to all areas of their lives. Programs that deliver explicit instruction of these skills allow students to not only learn the

My first year moot experience taught me a lot about how to be an effective advocate. One thing I learned about being an effective advocate is finding your own voice. At the end of the day, advocacy is advocacy regardless of its display. Since advocacy subjectively depends on the person, it is evident that different mooters will have different styles of advocacy. Some mooters are very theatrical and some are very scholarly and theoretical in their approach. However, no matter the style, the goal is still to be an effective advocate.

The barriers to learning faced by students with disabilities are many and complex, and differ from student to student and often from day to day. Barriers to learning for SEN students may be attitudinal, institutional, social, cultural and practical. The Disability Discrimination Act has a vital role to play in dismantling barriers and delivering equality of opportunity for disabled people in further education. Initiatives to recognise diversity within the student population and to understand the continuum of learner differences will help institutions to recognise and reduce barriers to learning for learners with learning disabilities or difficulties. However, some barriers to learning may still persist because they are outside the control of institutions.

This study intends to explore on the services offered to students with disabilities, and the outcomes of these services to their education and career goals. It will examine if the obstacles faced by special needs children have to do with how effective the policies are in addressing the needs of such children. This study is important to children with disabilities because it can help them discover the education opportunities available for them, the institutions they can rely on for economic support, and the treatment they should expect from the society.

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S