Transition to Self-Advocacy

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Transition to Self-Advocacy
Where to go and how to get there
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Introductions

• Andi Czaban
• Deaf Specialist
• Corina Gutierrez
• Deaf Specialist

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Introductions Continued

• What is your name?
• Where are you from?
• How old are you? What grade are you in?
• Where do you go to school?

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Agenda

• Introductions
• The State of New Mexico, Commission for the Deaf
  and Hard of Hearing
• Definitions
• Transition
• Self-Advocacy
• Steps to Becoming A Self-Advocate
• Role Plays
• Questions

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State of New Mexico, Commission for Deaf and Hard
of Hearing Persons

• The Commission provides effective leadership,
  education, advocacy and programs to reduce
  barriers to the social, economic, educational,
  cultural and intellectual well being of Deaf and
  Hard of Hearing New Mexicans and their families,
  friends, and colleagues.

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What is Transition?

• A major change
• Movement from one stage of life to another
• Rogets II The New Thesaurus, Third Edition, The
  American Heritage Dictionary

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
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Self-Advocacy

• An individuals ability to speak for oneself and
  ones own needs
• Reference Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880-July 1, 1968)
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Transition Involves Self-Advocacy

• ROLE PLAY
• A person who is not empowered.
• A person who is empowered.
• You are empowered to make decisions for yourself.
• -Corina
  Gutierrez

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Why is transition into self-advocacy important?

• 88 of states fail to ensure compliance in
  transition.
• Many people do not know What to Do
• Many people do not know How to Do It
• National Council on Disability

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How to Become an Effective Self-Advocate
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Impact of Laws Compared High School vs
Post-Secondary and Career
High School Post-Secondary/Career
IDEA/504 ADA/504
MUST provide services MUST provide accommodations
Free and appropriate mandatory education Optional education
Entitlement law Civil Rights law
Remedial learning tools Equal access not necessarily equal outcome
SUCCESS ORIENTED ACCESS ORIENTED
Applied universally until age 21 or high school diploma earned Admittance factors same for all
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Steps to Becoming A Self-Advocate

• Know who you are what your needs are.
• Know what you want and why you want it.
• Know what you are legally entitled to.
• Know how to achieve your goals.

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Know who you are and what your needs are.

• What are your interests?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What disability do you have?
• What types of accommodations or modifications do
  you need to successfully participate in college
  or a career?

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Know what you want and why you want it.

• If you are planning to go to college, what do you
  want to do and what types of services do they
  offer?

• If you are planning on starting a career or job,
  what do you want to do and what are their
  responsibilities?

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Know what laws affect your rights...

• Disability Laws and Your Rights
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush
signed into law the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (ADA)the world's first comprehensive
civil rights law for people with disabilities.
In 1973, President Nixon signed an important, new
version of the Rehabilitation Act.
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Know how to achieve your goals.
The ideas are to help you achieve your goal of
becoming a self-advocate and taking charge of
your successful transition to adulthood.
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Assert Yourself

• Practice what you will say
• Maintain eye contact
• Ask for time to think if you need it
• Rephrase what you hear to be sure you understand
• Be respectful
• Be careful of your body language
• Use I statements
• Be flexible

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Role Play
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SITUATION 1

• You are a student at a community college. You
  are taking a Algebra class in which you have been
  attending regularly with 2 interpreters. One
  day, you show up to your class and there are no
  interpreters. You wait and wait for the
  interpreters to show up but they never do. What
  should you do?

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SITUATION 2

• You want to apply for a job at Albertsons. You
  inform the manager that you are Deaf and you
  request an interpreter for the interview. The
  manager tells you that it is your responsibility
  to get an interpreter and they will not provide
  you with one. What should you do?

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SITUATION 3

• You want to make an appointment to see your
  doctor for a physical check up. You request an
  interpreter and the receptionist from the
  doctors office says they will not provide you an
  interpreter, and that it is your responsibility
  to bring an interpreter for your appointment with
  the doctor. What should you do?

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SITUATION 4

• You want to have a meeting with a case worker
  from the Social Security Administration office to
  discuss your SSI. You request to have an
  interpreter and they agree to provide you with
  one. You show up for your appointment with the
  case worker to find out that they did not get you
  a qualified interpreter. At that time they get
  someone from their agency that can and knows
  basic sign language to interpret for you. What
  should you do?

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Questions?
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Questions

• Name one thing you learned and remembered about
  transition to self-advocacy.

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Contact Us

• State of New Mexico, Commission for Deaf Hard
  of Hearing Persons
• V/TTY/VP 505-881-8824
• Website www.cdhh.state.nm.us
• Email
• andrea.czaban_at_state.nm.us
• corina.gutierrez_at_state.nm.us

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Thank You