"If you think you are handicapped,
you might as well stay indoors;
If you think you are a person,
Come out and tell the world."
Raymond Loomis
People First of Nebraska
Introduction. While we can advocate for others with the best of intentions, the most important method of advocacy is self-advocacy. Self advocacy is people speaking up for their own rights in their own individual ways. It could be serving on a board of directors, or deciding about something to buy, or choosing between food textures or choosing a job.
Self-Advocacy Objectives in the Individual Service Plan. As with other decisions about an indi vidual service plan, decisions about self-advocacy goals and objectives should be consumer-driven. That is, they should be based on individual needs and preferences. The most effective way to do this would be to include a discussion of self-advocacy as a part of the annual meeting. Here are some suggestions to guide your discus sion during the interview:
Developing Self-Advocacy Objectives. Training and experience in decision-making can be written directly into instructional objectives. The desired outcome of all of these objectives is more independence. Here are some examples:
Timing of events. For example, choosing when to get up on the weekend or when to go to bed at night or when to get a haircut or when to eat dinner.
Jack will be provided with at least 2 chances
each day to choose the timing of an event at the
places where he lives and works.
Personal choices. For example, what clothes to wear, what shampoo to buy, which cereal to eat.
Jan will be provided with at least 2 chances
each day to make personal choices at the
places where she lives and works.
Methods of training. For example, choosing between places where training will occur or who will provide the training.
Margaret will choose street-crossing sites near
her home for mobility training.
Staff evaluation. For example, through interviews with individuals or through observations of staff-consumer relationships.
Jack will participate in the evaluation of 3 staff
members at the place where he lives.
Hiring of staff. For example, asking individuals for input after potential staff have spent a day in the program.
John will participate on the agency Personnel
Committee of the work program with support
as needed.
Agency board of directors. For example, a work training service or a regional center.
Margaret will attend 8 out of 10 board meetings
within one year with support as needed.
Self-charting. For example, a picture symbol calendar for self-care and chores.
Jack will complete all of his self-care at home
without staff reminders.
Assertiveness training. For example, an assertiveness training class at the community college.
John will complete the assertive training class with
assistance and transportation as needed.
Self-advocacy training. For example, joining a local People First chapter.
Margaret will attend monthly People First meetings
with assistance and transportation as needed.
Annual planning meetings. For example, making sure that the consumer is present and allowing for time to make sure that he or she understands what is happening.
Jack will complete the IPP Planning Guide with
assistance before the next annual meeting.
Infusions. While developing individualized objectives is a good way to ensure that training in self-advocacy will be a part of everyone's program, infusions can work just as well. That is, looking at current instructional objectives and determining ways that choice-making could be provided within the learning envi ronment. Here are some objectives with examples of ways to provide opportunities for choice-making:
Objective:Given money, dirty laundry and staff supervision, Bill will wash laundry at a laundromat by operating the washer, drying the laundry in the dryer and folding the laundry with 80% correct responses 4 out of 5 times.
Self-Advocacy Infusions:
Timing of events: Choose what day to schedule laundromat training.
Personal choices: Choose the laundromat; what washer and dryer to \use; what detergent to purchase from the soap machine.
Self-charting: Mark a + for 'did it by myself' or a x 'needed some help'.
Objective:Given the kitchen materials at home, Bill will independently prepare and serve himself a bowl of soup one time per week with 80% correct responses 6 out of 7 times.
Self-Advocacy Infusions:
Timing of events:Choose what day to have soup for lunch.
Personal choices:Choose what type of soup; type of pan; which burner on the stove.
Objective: Given money, a picture shopping list and staff supervision, Bill will purchase items at a grocery store, obtaining the correct items and paying for them with 80% correct responses 6 out of 7 times.
Self-Advocacy Infusions:
Timing of events:Choose what day to schedule grocery shopping; choose whether to go in the morning or afternoon.
Personal choices: Choose what to place on the picture shopping list; whether to use a shopping cart or basket; which line to wait in.
Methods of Training: Choosing which staff will accompany him to the store; choosing which store.
Collecting Data on Self-Advocacy Objectives or Infusions. Collecting data on self-advocacy objectives is just like collecting data on any other objective. For example:
Objective: Given money and staff supervision, Bill will select food items (for preparing lunch) at a grocery store of his choice and pay for them with 80% correct responses 4 out of 5 times.
In the task analysis for the above objective, steps would be included which will indicate Bill's level of independence in selecting the store and food items for prepar ing lunch. Data on these two steps would be collected using the same rating system for levels of independence used in other steps in the task analysis.
If you decide to 'infuse' a choice-making activity into an existing objective, then simply write it in as the last step of the task analysis. For example:
Objective: Given the kitchen materials at home, Bill will independently prepare and serve himself a bowl of soup one time per week with 80% correct responses 6 out of 7 times.
If you decided to infuse the choice of soup, write it into the task analysis as "selects type of soup for heating". If the task analysis has 15 steps, then make this the sixteenth step and collect data on it, e.g. a + for selected soup without a prompt or - for selected soup with prompting.
Some Additional Considerations. The advantages in helping people develop their capacities for self-advocacy are endless. Primarily, that as people with developmental disabilities become more self-reliant, they become less dependent on their 'care-givers'. As you know, self-reliance equals self-power in our society.
If there is a 'down-side' in promoting self-advocacy through the individual instructional process, it is scheduling. That is, scheduling for choice-making opportunities takes planning. For example, you may have to build in more time for community access training when you are working with people who have not typically made choices-- it takes more time to allow someone the chance to choose for themselves in the beginning, but it will pay off!
"We are people first, and
our handicaps are second.
We wish people would
recognize this and not give
us a tag like handicapped or retarded."
People First of Nebraska