Books

Self-Advocacy for Higher Education: A Step-by-Step Guide to Preparing to Request Accommodations in College

Self-Advocacy for Higher Education: A Step-by-Step Guide to Preparing to Request Accommodations in College is designed to help students with learning disabilities prepare to self-disclose in college and get the accommodations they need. 

Ideal to be used by parents, students, and educators, the step-by-step process will easily help students develop the self-awareness and knowledge needed to move through the college accommodation process.

Did you know that when in college, only 1-20 students will ask for the accommodations they need? That’s 5%. There are many barriers students with learning disabilities face when going to college. Most important are those self-imposed barriers, including how students think of themselves and their disability, fear of being treated or thought of differently by faculty, and the stigma. Even if they decide to seek accommodations, students are faced with not knowing who to ask, and more importantly, not knowing how to explain their disability effectively, what they need, and why they need it. They are not comfortable with their disability and have trouble communicating about it.

The solution: a simple, practical, step-by-step method to help students become more self-aware and communicate effectively about their disability.

Those who know their disability well and are comfortable saying it aloud get what they need, use what works for them, and ask for help when they need it. The bottom line is self-advocacy works. 

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, self-advocacy and self-determination are essential factors for student success. Other studies show that students who self-advocate ask for what they need and have better GPAs. 

That’s important, no matter what major you choose. Self-advocacy relates to staying in school, doing better, and getting a degree.

 

Workbook

Self-Advocacy in Higher Ed: A Step-by-Step Workbook

Self-Advocacy in Higher Ed: A Step-by-Step Workbook was designed to help students with learning disabilities prepare to self-disclose in college and obtain the accommodations they need. 

Ideal to be used by parents, students, and educators. The workbook’s step-by-step process will help students develop the self-awareness and knowledge needed to move through the accommodation process easily.

This workbook can be used as a stand-alone resource. However, for the best results, use this workbook in conjunction with the book and our web-based programs.

Note that as a stand-alone resource, more work may be necessary to obtain the information needed to proceed.

For the best results, students should work collaboratively with a parent, a trusted teacher, or special education teacher to complete this workbook. The collaborative effort will help lay the groundwork to work collaboratively with disability staff in college. 

With repeated practice answering the workbook questions, at the end of the process, the result will be a student who is knowledgeable, self-aware, and prepared to self-advocate for the accommodations they need. 

Please note that this is a downloadable PDF that can be printed at home or school. Nothing will be physically mailed to you.

The workbook comes with a single-use license. For school-wide licenses, please contact [email protected].