Learning to Communicate for Myself: The Significance of Self-Advocacy

Communication can be challenging for many children on the autism spectrum. I struggled with communication early in my school career, but years of speech therapy from preschool right through high school helped improve my conversational and interpersonal skills. As I was finishing up middle school and about to start high school, my parents started having me more involved in IEP meetings and began having me more involved in the accommodations I would like for my plan. On the same page, it also marked when my parents encouraged me to do more self-advocacy.

My parents had been my biggest advocates for me since day one, and they had helped advocate for many accommodations for me over the years. The list includes everything from the sensory overload I had in elementary school with the noisy cafeteria, fire alarms and kids on the bus; the loud chorus room and cafeteria in intermediate school; and the stern-toned trigger words in middle school. Moreover, my parents also helped me with other accommodations and assistance, such as giving me a quiet room for tests and MCAS, as well as asking my teachers for clarification and assistance on projects and papers. I’m very appreciative of my parents speaking on my behalf throughout my school career, and my teachers and specialists for being prompt with their assistance and support.

After my parents brought up the notion of me being more of a self-advocate, I was initially apprehensive about doing so. I was nervous about my teachers saying “no” to my requests, which would then put me at a disadvantage with completing my assignments. They then told me the opposite, where it’s one thing for my teachers to hear from my parents, but it has a more significant impact if the request comes directly from the student. That perspective made me understand why it’s important to self-advocate, and I decided to give it a try. I did my first significant advocation in eighth grade, when I sent an email to my science teacher about asking for assistance on a project. She was very accommodating, and asked if I had all of the necessary materials and if I had any questions.

In high school, my liaison did a lesson with my classmates and me about the significance of self-advocacy. He mentioned how self-advocacy can help students out when they want to make accommodations about taking tests in quiet environments, as well as getting further clarification about what to expect on a test or how to format a paper. He said that in college and beyond, having your parents reach on your behalf wouldn’t flow well with the expectations of professors and employers. Instead, advocating for ourselves shows who we talk to that they can help us with trying to reach a solution and agreement for solving the problem, as well as it shows teachers, professors and employers that we care about succeeding and doing the best job we can. I took his words seriously, and for nearly all of my high school career, I would reach out to my teachers about questions I had, as well as to request taking tests in quiet environments. Sending emails and meeting with my teachers before or after class made me more confident as an advocator, which made my skills shine going into college.

At Worcester State, the biggest support mode I took was going for help from my professors via email or during their office hours. Most of the time I was asking for clarification about assignments and help with exam preparation. I had some support from specialist at the student accessibility services office about the best approaches to receive help, but she didn’t advocate for me. Going for extra help gave me better insight on what to include for my work and writing, as well as the right approaches on what to focus on for the test. Moreover, attending office hours allows students to build a positive relationship with their professors, so they can help them make the most of the assistance. When the professor sees the student coming to seek his or her assistance, it makes the professor happy that the student is putting in effort, and may lead him or her to give the student a boost on his or her overall grade for effort and participation. Attending office hours and reaching out for help was a significant part of my success and growth as a student at WSU, and I’m very appreciative of each and every professor’s efforts to assist with which I needed the most guidance.

Self-advocacy is not an easy task for autistic students to accomplish, but with plenty of support and practice, they can easily do so. The direct communication between a teacher and student shows the teacher that the student cares about succeeding, and can go a long way toward building an effective relationship that can promote productivity. Moreover, I feel that once autistic students are in middle school, they can start attending their IEP meetings. It’s at that point where they can start to discuss their accommodations and see how happy they are with them, and if they want to add or remove any. Even while they’re in elementary school, students can still talk to their teachers and parents about making any accommodations or reporting any sensory issues to help improve learning environments. All students think differently and have different needs and requests, so it’s important for them to gradually self-advocate and not rush into it early on. All students have the same capability to advocate for themselves, and they should never have to worry about the answer being “no.”