Liz

Module 6 Posting

Self-advocacy, person centered planning, and self-determination all work together in bringing awareness of the rights, interests and desires for the future of a student with a disability and providing a vehicle for the student to move forward with his/her goals. I feel that it is essential to promote self-determination and self-advocacy consistently and over time. These qualities can be developed through person centered planning and used in IEP meetings. As students are engaged in the process of self-analysis and are supported by adults, they can begin to understand their strengths and weaknesses and think about goals for their future. Self-advocacy and self-determination emerge when the student is challenged to think about strengths and weaknesses, identify preferences and goals, and then be able to express those ideas in an assertive way. Person centered planning meetings can be the vehicle to teach about and encourage the student to take steps in the direction of becoming a self-advocate. It takes time and positive experiences to become self-determined and be a self-advocate, so this process needs to be maintained over time during the student’s secondary years. It is evident from Sabine’s videos, and even Richard from last week, that a support “circle” of adults is essential to launching and directing this process, but that the individuals are very capable of expressing interests and goals and ultimately lead much happier and more fulfilled lives.

As stated in “Finding a way toward everyday lives,” “the person at the focus of planning, and those who love the person, are the primary authorities on the person’s life direction.” Given the freedoms of our nation, it is hard to believe and understand that everyone would not be given this right. It was shocking to see how individuals with disabilities were treated in the past. I’m so thankful that we have seen progress toward encouraging and allowing individuals with disabilities to have a voice in their future.

One thought has been constantly in the back of my mind as we have been studying self-determination and self-advocacy and especially person centered planning. As I reflect on my daughter who is now a college freshman and planning to major in one of 8 possible majors, I realize that person centered planning in conjunction with self-determination and self-advocacy can be valuable for all students. Universal Design is a concept that considers the “normalization” of things that might have required accommodation. For instance, if all computers are equipped with magnification software, a student with low vision could work at any computer on a college campus without accommodation. Why couldn’t universal design be employed in the area of person centered planning during the secondary years? My guess is that a school district would have to win the lottery to do this, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to normalize this process by including all students in the process of coming together with a group of adults that can teach them to be self-determined, to advocate for their choices, and to provide them with resources to explore their goals? I know that my daughter would have benefitted from this process and would have, perhaps, had a better sense of direction for her life.

**//From Joe - what a great concept - Universal Design and Transition. Brookes has a book out on this topic by Thoma, et al. It was published in '09. The primary focus is on blending academic preparation and transition planning. But I like your ideas too. the State of Connecticut was working on a plan for all students to have some transition planning, but I don't know where that stands now. Great ideas, with lots of potential.//**

Note: my follow up posting for module 6 is on Jennifer's wiki