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SelfAdvocacyforCollegeStudents
By:RichardGoldhammerandLoringC.Brinckerhoff(1993) Theneedforselfadvocacyskillsinapostsecondarysettingisessential.Studentswhohavereliedonthe supportoftheirparentsandothersnowmustbeabletohelpthemselves.Thisvital"riteofpassage" enablesthelearningdisabledindividualtoprepareforindependenceandsuccessintheadultworld.Self advocacyforcollegestudentswithlearningdisabilitiescanbedefinedastheabilitytorecognizeandmeet theneedsspecifictoone'slearningdisabilitywithoutcompromisingthedignityofoneselforothers.Most parentsandprofessionalsinvolvedwithpreparingstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesforcollegewould agreethatindependentdecisionmakingandtheabilitytoexpressone'sneedsaretwocriticalelementsof selfadvocacy. Yet,successwithmakingdecisionsandcommunicatingone'sneedscanbedifficultforstudentswith learningdisabilitiesbeyondhighschool.Withouttheseskills,however,thetransitionfromhighschoolto collegeforstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesmaybedaunting.Inthecollegeclassroom,forexample, studentsmayneedtoshowaprofessorhowtheylearnbest.Astudentwithdyslexiawhoprocesses writtenmaterialmoreslowlymayrequireadditionaltimeonanexamtoshowwhatheorsheislearning. Further,thisadditionaltimecanoftenmeanthestarkdifferencebetweendoingwellandfailing. Giventhatselfadvocacyisessentialforprospectivecollegestudentswithlearningdisabilitiestobe successful,thisarticlewillpresentfourmythsaboutwhatselfadvocacyisforthesestudentsaswellas responsestothesemyths.Theywerechosenbecauseoftheirprevalenceamongstudentswithlearning disabilitiesandtheirparents.Further,thesemythsoftenhavehadadecisivelynegativeeffectonthese students'abilitytomeetneedscriticaltotheirsuccessinacollegesetting.Theresponsespresented addressthesemythsandhighlightsomebestpracticesforselfadvocacy.

Respondingtomythsaboutselfadvocacyinapostsecondarysetting
Myth#1.It'sbettertoavoidthelabel"learningdisability"becausesuchlabels areultimatelydamagingtothestudent'sselfesteem.
Fewwouldarguethatstudentsbenefitfrombeinglabeled.However,forcollegestudentstherearedistinct advantagesto"owning"thediagnosisofalearningdisability.UnderSection504oftheRehabilitationActof 1973,collegestudentshaverightsthatareguaranteestoanyindividualwithadisability.Forexample, somestudentswithsignificantattentiondifficultiesmaylearnbestwithminimaloutsidedistraction.Soa studentwithadiagnosedattentiondeficitdisorder(ADD)mayneedtotakeanexaminaseparateroom, freefromdistractingvisualandauditorystimuli,inordertoeffectivelydemonstratewhatsheorheis learning.Ifstudentshavenotfacedtheirlearningdisabilitytosomedegree,theymostlikelydonotknow theirrightsasadisabledperson,orwhatspecificaccommodationsaretailoredtotheirspecificneeds. InresponsetoMyth#1,thesuggestedpracticesare: Knowhowtodescribeyourlearningdisability,aswellasyourspecificacademicstrengthsand weaknessestoavarietyofdifferentaudiences. Begintoaccepttheterm"learningdisability"asadescriptionofdifficultiesandasanaspectofhow youlearn.Donotletitdetermineyouridentity. Sampleaccommodationsappropriatetoyourlearningdisabilitybasedoninformationinyour
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diagnosticreport.Tryoutdifferentaccommodationsandthendecidewhichonesworkforyou. Readaboutotheradultswithlearningdisabilitieswhoweresuccessfulincollege.

Myth#2.Nowthatthereareprogramsorstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesat manypostsecondarysettings,theirexistenceguaranteesthatstudents' essentialneedswillbemet.

Unfortunately,thisisnotso.EvenverycomprehensiveLDsupportprogramsmaynotemphasizetheneed ofstudentstoadvocateforthemselvesinacollegeoruniversitysetting.Whileastudents'rightsto "reasonableaccommodations"areprotectedunderthelaw,theexactnatureoftheaccommodationoften restsuponthestudent'sabilitytonegotiatewithaprofessor.Toooftenstudentsnegotiateawaytheir rightsbynotknowingtheirrightsbeforetheyseeaprofessor.Theymayassumethattheydidnotneedto approachtheprofessorbecausethereisanLDsupportprogramoncampus.Forexample,onceastudent hastakenatestwithoutrequestingaccommodations,thereislittlethatthel.Dsupportservicesofficecan dowhenastudentlaterrealizesthatmoretimewasneeded. InresponsetoMyth#2,suggestedpracticesare: Takeresponsibilityforyourlearningdisability. Practicebecomingmoreassertivewithprofessorsandsupportstaff. Findarelaxedbutconfidentcommunicationstyle. Gettoknowprofessorsandadministratorsinyourprogram.

Myth#3.Obtainingthehighestgradespossibleisthemajoryardstickof effectiveselfadvocacy.Bettergradesleadtoincreasedoptionsuponleavinga postsecondarysetting.

Itistruethathighergradeswillleadtomoreoptionsforstudentsconsideringprofessionsthatrequire graduateschooling.However,gradesarenottheonlyfactorsthatcomeintoplay.Studentswithlearning disabilitieswilloftenhavetoworkmuchharderthantheirpeerstoachievecomparableacademic outcomes.Unfortunately,highergradesdonotmeanthatonehastrulylearnedtoselfadvocate.Ifbythe definitionofselfadvocateweincludemeetingone'sneedsbeyondtheneedforhighgrades(i.e.,theneed toshowhowoneislearning,tobemoreselfaware,tobecomecompetent,confident,toaffiliatewith others,tocontributetothewellbeingofothers),thisyardstickmeasurefallsshortofwhatcollegecan offer.Examplesaboundofstudentswithlearningdisabilitieswhohavemasteredgettinghighgradesbut areleftisolatedandmiserableintheprocess,ultimatelyhurtingtheirdevelopmenttowardshealthy, functionalindependence.Ifthebottomlineisindependenceintheworldofwork,itmaynotbetruethat thebetterone'sgrades,themoresuccessfultheworker.Socialskillscoupledwithcompetenceinone's fieldaretheskillsnecessarytosucceedintheworkplace. InresponsetoMyth#3,thesuggestedpracticesare: Joinasupportgroupforstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesonyourcampus,orstartone! Enjoyrelaxingandgrowthorientedactivities(e.g.,sailingwithafriend). Seekabalanceacademicallyandsocially Getinvolvedinanactivityoncampusforasmuchtimeasyoufeelyoucanafford.It'sagreatway tomeetpeopleanddevelopsocialskills. Askforhelpwithpersonaldifficultiesyoumaybehavingbyseeingaprofessionalinthecounseling centeroncampus.

Myth#4.Whenstudentsencounteraverydifficultacademicsituation,it'sbest
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tolettheirparentstakeover.
Thiscouldnotbefurtherfromthetruth!Whileparentshadtobestrongadvocatesinmanyinstances duringtheirson'sordaughter'spriorschoolyears,incollegeitisthestudents'responsibilitytoactontheir ownbehalf.Collegeaffordsstudentstheopportunitytolearntoproblemsolve,todrawontheirown resourcesofindependenceandtoseektheassistanceofsupportstaff,ifneeded.Forthestudentwhomay notthinktheycangetwhattheyneed,theLDsupportservicesofficehasprofessionalstrainedtofacilitate astudent'sselfadvocacyneedswhilerespectingtheirdignityandneedtomakechoices.Toomanywell meaningparentshave"chosen"amajorfortheirsonordaughter,directedthemastowhichsupport servicestheyneedandhavetoldtutorsorprofessorshowtheirdaughterorsonshouldbetaught.Further, excessiveparentinvolvementcanengenderresentmentamongcollegeprofessorsandsupportstaff, especiallythosewhodonotdirectlyworkwithstudentswithlearningdisabilities.Theymayperceivesuch involvementasoverprotectiveormeddling. InresponsetoMyth#4,thesuggestedpracticesare: Parentscanjoinsupportgroupsintheirareaevenaftertheirdaughterorsonhasleftforcollege. Parentsneedtoletgo.Theycannotbeinchargeoftheadultlifeoftheirsonordaughter. Realizethatthemostvaluablelessonastudentcanlearnastheyareonthethresholdofadulthood islearningabouttheconsequencesoftheiractions. Aboveall,astudentwithalearningdisabilityneedstobecomecomfortablewithaskingforhelp fromthosemostabletobeeffectiveinmeetingtheirneedsinapostsecondarysetting,whether theybeprofessors,LDserviceproviders,personsincareerorcounselingservices,andothers.

Conclusion
Theopportunitiesforselfadvocacyproliferateasstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesentercollege.Students oughttobeencouragedtotakepartinasmanyoftheseopportunitiesfordemonstratingtheir independenceaspossible.Learningselfadvocacyskillsisa"winwin"propositionforcollegestudentswith learningdisabilities. Parents,professionalstaffandfacultywinwhenstudentslearntonegotiateeffectivelytohavetheirneeds met.Studentswithlearningdisabilitiesbenefitmostfromdevelopingselfadvocacyskillsfortherealitiesof apostsecondarysettingandtheworldbeyond. Thepreciouslycitedmythsaboutwhattodoincollegeasastudentwithalearningdisabilityhighlight someofthepitfallsthatneedtobeavoided.Usingthesesuggestionsforselfadvocacywithstudentswith learningdisabilitieswillhelpthemtobetteraddresstherealitiesofapostsecondarysetting. RichardGoldhammerandLoringC.BrinckerhoffNationalCenterforLearningDisabilities,1993 http://www.ldonline.org/article/6142?theme=print 2008WETA.AllRightsReserved.

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