How do I advocate for myself?

What are the most significant barriers students with disabilities face when trying to advocate for themselves in schools?

 

The biggest barriers—well, I think there's a number of barriers. The first one is just understanding your own value, right? Because for most of us, we get into school and you get these messages about “how you're supposed to be” and you're like, “That doesn't quite fit me.” And so you get all these messages about your value and what you're entitled to. And so you have to kind of push against those and be like, “Wait a minute, I'm as important as anyone else here.” So I think getting that sense of yourself is the first step—knowing, like, “Hey, I'm not the only one here who needs to do things this way or is maybe outside of what people think of as the norm.”

 

And then you have to go to people and advocate for yourself and sometimes they haven't considered your perspective, right? And this is something that is new to them, which is really surprising today—that there are still people who go, “I don't know what you're talking about.” I can talk about this in a couple different ways. I can say that the system is really ableist, and it's set up for a narrow group of people to do well. And I believe that, but I also believe that there are teachers with good intentions who don't know what they're doing.

 

So there are sometimes times where you have to determine, like, “What is the fight here?” Is it that I have to be really pushy and say, “This is what I need. Here's how I can do well at this. Here's what kind of support that will help me learn.” Or being really kind and being like, “Hey, will you work with me?” You kind of have to balance and decide when somebody will respond because you're kind to them.

 

I think as a student, I looked at teachers like they're up here and I'm down here. And as I worked with teachers over the years and I became a teacher, I realized sometimes we're in the same position, like we're going, “I don't know everything and I feel like I'm supposed to.” And so I think that's part of the barrier—teachers think they're supposed to know everything. They don't. So being that kind of connector of, “Hey, it's okay, I'm going to share what I've learned and here's what works well for me.”​

 

How should students address teacher misconceptions about learning differences while maintaining positive relationships?

 

I think a couple of things. One, through people like you and me, we can offer students some resources that would be good for teachers. So even to say, “Here's a couple things, a couple of videos,” because there are people who have created a lot of content that aims to help people understand this. So if we can grab a hold of some of those and say, “Here are some resources that helped me understand this, they might be helpful for you.”

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I think also, you know, different states have different legislation. In California, just recently, the governor has dyslexia. And so he has been an advocate and now there are requirements for teacher education—these dyslexia guidelines have to be part of teacher training. And so there are these sets of dyslexia guidelines and they could be used. I don't know if it's legislated where you are, but that's something that could be offered. 

So I think offering people tools is a good way to show, “Hey, I'm not the only one asking for this. This is really common. This is like a quarter of our population that really benefits from this.” That's a lot of people. And when I say that, I know that may not matter to some people. For me, I think, “If one person needs it, you do it.” For a lot of people, the numbers seem to matter to them.

 

What's the biggest challenge you face when working with educators to change how they think about disability?

 

I think the biggest challenge is the way things have always been done and people being trained a certain way. I think we have a system of special education, and although it was designed to support students and families, it has done a lot of damage. It has made people think there are two kinds of students—there's “a normal student” and “an abnormal student.” And that's just not helpful.

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When I work with teachers, I often find people who think, “Well, special education, those students need special teachers and they need special classes.” And I'm like, “Hold on a minute. Why are these needs so special? Why can't they happen right here?” So I think just getting out of that special mindset—it's one of those words that people use to make it sound like it's something good, but people use that in ways that are really disrespectful.

 

How can students find community with others who have similar learning differences?

 

I think your messaging really matters. You don't want to say, “Hey, are you struggling?” You say, “We're looking for people who have leadership potential or students who have something to teach about dyslexia.” That way people feel like they're coming in with something they're going to give.

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I think about my own willingness to participate in things and I think, “Well, if there's something I have to give to this group,” I'm a lot more comfortable coming in than if I'm coming in and I need something. So it's kind of a balance of making it, “Hey, we know you have something to give, but also we all come with different things.” It's a recognition that this is what you've experienced and that gives you insight.

 

How can students create a more inclusive school culture around learning disabilities?

 

I think students today, there's a lot more acceptance of difference in some ways by students. One thing I've always told teachers to recommend is that often we tell people, “Oh, when they're looking to find friends, find friends who are like you, who have something in common with you.” I always say, “Find friends who have something different or who are different than you, so you can learn from each other.”

 

I also think creating ways to stand up for each other. Just kind of practicing that if somebody's being bullied or mocked, that you just make a practice of standing up for them and saying, “Hey, that's not cool.” And then I think that also is standing up for each other when it comes to teachers who may not be responsive. Because advocating for yourself is hard, but if you have somebody next to you who's saying, “Yeah, this is important,” it makes a big difference.

 

How do college accommodations differ from high school, and how should students navigate this transition?

 

Here's a big difference that happens. If you have done a lot of advocating for yourself, you already know what to do. In K-12, it's the teacher's responsibility to make sure you're getting what you need. In higher education, you have to be the one who goes to them and says, “I have this documentation,” and you bring them what your accommodations have been in the past and you say, “Here's what would be helpful.”

 

At the beginning of a semester, if you'd like them to, they will send a letter to faculty in your classes to say you're taking their class and, “Here are the accommodations.” I will say, there are a lot of people who leave high school and go, “I don't want to deal with that.” And they don't, and then they get into classes and they're like, “Oh, God, I wish I had.” So if those accommodations have been helpful to you, I would say, yeah, right away, make sure you're registered.

 

What advice do you have for students who want to become advocates themselves?

 

First of all, knowing that you're worth it and then understanding that a teacher may or may not have the experience working with you on that. When you do this work and you become an expert in it, hopefully you'll be paid for the work that you love to do.

 

I feel it's a star moment when a student feels comfortable in class to say, "Hey, I have dyslexia" or "I have ADHD," because I've had a lot of students who have said, “I've never wanted to tell my peers this.” When students realize the way we talk about disability in asset-based terms—this is a valuable experience, this is something that as a teacher is going to be really useful—that's when real change happens.