Advocating For Yourself

SELF-ADVOCACY

It’s important to know what accommodations and resources are listed in your IEP in order for you to understand how to advocate for yourself as there are lots of opportunities for self-advocacy in the classroom. I view self-advocacy as something that is my responsibility to initiate and I seek out support to learn these skills. I’ve provided some examples below of some ways that I have learned to self-advocate that I find most beneficial:

Communicating In IEP Meetings

Notes – Ask for Copies

When discussing accommodations in your IEP meeting, it can be difficult to take notes for yourself. Ask to record the meeting, ask your parents to take notes and give them to you afterwards or ask your case worker to provide you with the notes after the meeting is over. This will help to ensure that the accommodations you want in your IEP are being included.

Prepare in Advance

When attending your IEP meeting with your parent, prepare in advance for what questions might come up and be asked of you. If you need help, reach out to a parent or support person to help you prepare if needed. Think about what kind of accommodations you might want, where things are going well, where you might need extra help and what accommodations are not being supported. Preparing in advance allows you time to think about your needs before the meeting takes place and gives you an opportunity to be involved in the conversation. I find preparing in advance for all different types of meetings to be helpful in getting my questions answered and being prepared for the questions others may ask. 

Communicating with Teachers

Introduction Email:

I send an email to each one of my classroom teachers at the start of each class as the semester starts and indicate to them the “key accommodations” that I want them to pay special attention to. I do this because not all the accommodations listed in my IEP will necessarily apply to every class, and I want them to know what I feel my support needs are going to be. 

It’s also an opportunity for me to introduce myself and flag that I have an IEP and may ask for accommodations as I find necessary.

Teacher Check-In:

In my IEP, I have an accommodation that allows me extra time to complete assignments. I check in with my teachers whenever I’m going to need to use this accommodation and take extra time for any particular assignment. Checking in with teachers lets them know your progress and shows your participation as well as your responsibility to get the assignment done. Teachers respect the connection.

Quiet Space:

Whenever I need to do focused work in the classroom, I connect with my teacher to advise them that I would like to go to the resource room (or find a quiet space) to do my work outside the classroom. If this accommodation is in an IEP, its been my experience that teachers are happy to support a student with this request.

Class Notes:

Remind teachers that you need their note packets whenever written notes are required.

Tests/Exams:

Location

Taking a test in a quiet location that provides additional support (i.e. a resource room) is a very helpful accommodation. It’s important that you, as a student, connect with your case worker and teacher to request that you take your test in the designated quiet space. For me, I always connect with my teacher and caseworker at the same time and advise them that I will be taking my test in the resource room. Usually, the teacher will drop the test off at the resource room, and one of the resource room teachers will provide it to me and support me where necessary.

Time Extension

Taking tests can be slow for students with Dyslexia as it takes time to read and comprehend the questions being asked. Asking for additional time to complete a test is extremely helpful and takes the pressure off. This is usually always an option.

Requesting Help

As comprehension of test/exam questions is important to understanding what the questions are asking of you, requesting test support is a very helpful accommodation. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in understanding the questions.