Filled with strategies, and resources, this book uses the author's groundbreaking research about successful adults with learning disabilities, to promote self-advocacy. This work is brimming with useful and practical information. It is easily understood and embraced by students with learning disabilities, their parents, guidance counselors, and stakeholders in the fields of both higher and special education.
How do people with the label of learning difficulties challenge disabling environments?* What role can professionals play in supporting such challenges?* How do self-advocacy groups contribute to disability politics and the development of theories of disability?This timely book sets out to answer these questions for students, teachers and practitioners working in the field. It examines self-advocacy in the lives of people with learning difficulties. The term 'learning difficulties' is used to describe people who have been labelled at some point in their lives as requiring specialist 'mental handicap services'. Learning difficulties is preferred over other synonyms such as mental handicap, mental impairment or learning disabilities, because it is the term preferred by many in the self-advocacy movement (the focus of this book).Hitherto, a number of books have introduced and examined the notion of self-advocacy. This volume goes beyond these studies to offer an appraisal of self-advocacy in the lives of people with learning difficulties that is grounded in their own experiences. It redresses the dominant focus on learning difficulties as pathology or tragedy, highlighting the ways in which people so-labelled are fighting for their own human rights in a disabling society through their involvement in self-advocacy groups. It outlines a number of lessons for supporters, policy makers, professionals and service providers in relation to the resilience of self-advocates with learning difficulties and gives examples of good practice.
This book charts the course through which people with learning disabilities have become increasingly able to direct their own lives as fully active members of their communities. Many of the personal accounts, photographs and songs included in this book will be accessible and encouraging to people with learning disabilities.
""You Got Into Where?"" is the first college admissions guide written by a student who is fresh out of the college admissions process. Learn how I was admitted to schools like the University of Southern California and New York University with full tuition scholarships. The guide features copies of my admissions essay, writing supplement, and activities resume that I used to apply to college the fall of my senior year. Get advice on all the secrets of the admissions process from start to finish. ""I can't believe that a 17 year-old has written a college admissions books that is so well-written, clear and accurate. No wonder USC jumped at the chance to have her become their student. My sense of things is that mostly parents read college admissions books; high school students just don't want to take the time. Given what she says and how she says it, I truly believe that teens will rush to read "You Got Into Where?" It is well worth their time."" -Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz Author, adMISSION POSSIBLE
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Nonfiction "...an essential and engaging look at recent disability history."— Buzzfeed One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.
Young people come to realize, sometimes painfully early, that it isn't always possible to depend on adults to make sure they are treated safely, fairly, and legally. When teens are faced with situations that are unfair, immoral, illegal, and unjust, they do not need to be victims. They can learn to speak up for themselves effectively to improve their own lives and the lives of others. The skill of self-advocacy rarely comes naturally for teens. Self-Advocacy: The Ultimate Teen Guide offers a set of skills for young people to sort through and acquire and encourages them to speak up about what is bothering them. The book gives them helpful tools they can adapt to deal with adults they must work with_and in some cases against_in order to come to a solution to their problem. Self-Advocacy provides information teens need to have to advocate for themselves. The introduction and first three chapters explain what self-advocacy is; identify when and why it might be necessary for teens to speak up for themselves; provide a step-by-step guide on how to self-advocate successfully; and offer specific, real-world advice about how to wisely use the power of the media to publicize their cause. Seven issue-specific chapters follow. Each topic is treated in a dignified, organized, and comprehensive way, providing information teens can use and resources they can draw upon. The issues and information in those chapters deal with the real world and don't shy away from the difficulties young people encounter every day, such as personal rights, school issues, learning disabilities, physical disability, sexuality, legal issues, and foster care. Each chapter includes the voices and experiences of teens who have encountered issues and decided to speak up for and get what they need. Teens who learn how to advocate for themselves and then act are not only taking steps to right whatever wrong they have been facing, they are also preparing themselves for a successful adult life.
"There is not available a more comprehensive book in the area of self-determination." —Melinda Pierson, Department of Special Education California State University, Fullerton "Unique because it provides direction for teaching and supporting self-determined behavior across all age groups and also within the general education classroom and curricula." —Marianne Mooney, Senior Research Associate TransCen, Inc., Post-Secondary Learning and Careers Give students with disabilities powerful tools for success in school and in life! Michael Wehmeyer and Sharon Field present research-proven instructional strategies that empower special needs students at all grade levels to make their own decisions. Self-Determination offers detailed and current practitioner-oriented approaches in combination with extensive teacher reproducibles—all within the context of inclusion, standards-based reform, and access to the general curriculum. Linked to the IDEA requirement for individualized transition plans, this user-friendly resource assists practitioners in teaching the skills necessary for making decisions about employment, job skills, further schooling, and independent living. Educators will discover how to: Encourage students to become their own advocates by practicing assertive behavior Use needs-assessment techniques to determine the level of instruction required for each student Teach effective choice making, problem solving, and goal setting Support both families and fellow educators in their efforts to teach self-determination skills Special education teachers, general educators, and administrators will find this handbook an invaluable guide for helping students establish their own goals and plan for a strong and healthy future!
Leaving high school and going to college is complicated for everyone. But if you're a student on the autism spectrum who is about to enter higher education for the first time, it might be a little bit more complicated for you. Maybe you're worried about getting accommodations, getting places on time, or dealing with sensory issues in a new environment. Maybe you could use some advice on how to stay healthy at school, handle dating and relationships, or talk to your friends and classmates about your disability. Maybe you want to talk to someone who's already dealt with these issues. That's where we come in. Navigating College is an introduction to the college experience from those of us who've been there. The writers and contributors are Autistic adults, and we're giving you the advice that we wish someone could have given us when we headed off to college. We wish we could sit down and have a chat with each of you, to share our experiences and answer your questions. But since we can't teleport, and some of us have trouble meeting new people, this book is the next best thing. So as you go back to school, check out a copy of Navigating College for yourself or your loved one. We ve done this all before--let us help you out.
Aimed at parents of and advocates for special needs children, explains how to develop a relationship with a school, monitor a child's progress, understand relevant legislation, and document correspondence and conversations.
