Future Reflections Fall 2014 ADVOCACY
Encouraging Self-Advocacy
by Debbie Worman
From the Editor: Based in Winnetka, Illinois, the Hadley School for the Blind is a distance education school that offers a broad array of courses in multiple formats to blind persons and their family members. Debbie Worman has been a Hadley instructor since 1988. She teaches in all four of Hadley's program areas and also provides information and referral services. She is a licensed professional counselor who has worked with senior citizens, foster care families, and teen mothers.
When three-year-old Carson's grandma tried to hold his hand while he climbed the stairs, he exclaimed, "No, Grandma! Me do it!"
Brittany, sixteen, will soon attend her annual Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. In preparation, she is compiling a list of her goals, questions, and concerns to share with team members.
Forty-two-year-old Sarah recently began a new job. She scheduled a meeting with her employer to discuss reasonable accommodations that will enable her to perform her job successfully.
Hank, seventy-eight, called the Hadley School to enroll in the "Using Raised Markers" course. To maintain his independence, Hank is interested in learning how to label his appliances, food containers, and medications.
Carson, Brittany, Sarah, and Hank demonstrate that, at any age, it is important to speak up for oneself. The ability to do so is called self-advocacy. Effective self-advocacy skills include:
- Communicating one's needs and desires in a confident and assertive manner
- Understanding one's disability, unique strengths, and needs
- Knowing one's rights and responsibilities
- Locating support and resources
No one is born with self-advocacy skills. Skills must be learned and continually practiced throughout life. As the parent, grandparent, or other family member of an individual who is blind, you can play a key role in encouraging the development of self-advocacy in that person.
"You Can Do It!"
Begin by conveying the "You can do it!" attitude! Stress that believing in one's abilities and speaking for oneself are crucial. Effective self-advocates exude confidence. To help build self-confidence, you must take an active role in your family member's life.
Jackie, mother of six-year-old Elijah, shared that he is expected to dress himself each morning before school, no matter how long it takes, before they can leave the house. Hadley instructor Ginger Irwin calls this "tough love." "Parents have to be tough enough to make their children perform a task themselves. It is very important to wait patiently and let children complete tasks on their own, and at their own pace, even though it means that sometimes the tasks may not be completed perfectly."
Allow your family member to be as independent as possible. Let him or her shoulder responsibilities, learn to take risks, and experience consequences.
Be a Role Model
Individuals learn self-advocacy skills by observing others. Practice being a good self-advocate and demonstrate assertiveness and effective listening skills.
Your family member will observe how you advocate on his or her behalf. Be very cognizant of how you speak about blindness. Tim admits that he never realized his wife heard him discuss her visual impairment. "I was somewhat embarrassed about her vision loss, and I guess I conveyed this, not only to others but to my wife, too." Tim is now enrolled in Hadley's Family Education courses and feels he has developed a more positive view of blindness by gaining knowledge and understanding about his wife's diagnosis.
Seek Out Information
As an advocate for your child, are you knowledgeable about the IEP process? Where can you go to learn more about reasonable accommodations in the school setting or workplace? Is your family connected with a national blindness organization such as the National Federation of the Blind? How can Hadley assist you and your family member?
Knowledge is key in building advocacy and self-advocacy skills. With your family member, search for answers and invest time and energy in gathering pertinent materials.
In addition, encourage your family member to seek out information about his or her visual impairment. Effective self-advocates are able to discuss their visual impairment and its impact on their lives. A wonderful example is thirteen-year-old Taylor, who created a YouTube video explaining his eye condition to share with his teachers and peers.
Step Back
Remember, too, that over-helping your blind family member will lower his or her self-esteem. Because you are doing extra work that is not necessary, your own happiness may be affected. Hadley instructor Naomi Tuttle says, "You're not always going to be there for your family members, and you need to allow them to have their own voice." Self-advocacy skills give them that voice!
To learn more about encouraging self-advocacy skills, check out the following Hadley Family Education courses at <www.hadley.edu>:
- How to Be Your Child's Advocate
- Early Independence
- Reinforcing Independence: The Role of the Family
- Self-Esteem and Adjusting with Blindness
Media Share
