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Digital Edition5 steps to encouraging self-advocacy and self-determination in special education students
Special ed students should identify barriers to learning, assess self-confidence and participate in IEP meetings
Maria Worthen, vice president of federal and state policy at iNACOL, participated in a working group that developed recommendations for a National Center for Learning Disabilities’ report, “Agents of Their Own Success: Self-Advocacy Skills and Self-Determination for Students with Disabilities in the Era of Personalized Learning.”
Read more: Voice and choice drives edtech in special education
To encourage self-advocacy and self-determination (SA/SD), the report recommends that students:
- Learn more about their disability and the importance of SA/SD to their success
- Participate in opportunities to practice SA/SD
- Reflect on any barriers to learning they’ve faced in a school’s personalized learning setting, and talk to teachers or a principal about addressing those challenges
- Assess how confident they feel about advocating for themselves in school
- Request to join any meeting, such as an IEP or transition meeting, that involves decisions about their learning and future
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