These Are My Needs: How to Foster Self-Advocacy Skills in Students with LDs and ADHD

About the Webinar:

Developing self-advocacy skills in our students with LD and/or ADHD is essential to their success in all levels of school and beyond. As educators and parents, we need to work with our students at every age and grade to help them build the foundational skills to become self-advocates. More than just speaking up and asking for help, students need to understand their strengths and needs, feel a sense of belonging and purpose, believe in their own abilities, and hone their self-advocacy skills.

This presentation will explore these concepts more deeply and focus on how to build skills in our students. We will discuss how to teach self-understanding in our students, how they can identify their strengths and needs, and how their learning profile connects with their IEP and the support and accommodations that they receive. The role of self-confidence and self-esteem in advocacy, and how we can foster these skills in students of any age will be addressed. We will also discuss the impact of having an ‘invisible’ disability, how stigma impacts our students, and how these students face unique challenges in self-advocacy.

We will also explore the roles that parents and teachers take as advocates for students, and present a shared advocacy model, to help transfer advocacy roles from parent- or teacher-driven, to student-driven, as students move through elementary school towards secondary and post-secondary school.

Participants will walk away with knowledge of a variety of programs and resources for students in Grades 7-12 that help develop self-understanding, self-esteem, and self-advocacy skills, and support teachers and parents in guiding their child/student on their journey to becoming self-advocates.

About the Presenter:

Candice Daiken is a member of the transition team at the Regional Assessment and Resource Centre (RARC) at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. RARC is a Centre of Excellence, that comprises clinical psychologists, educators, transition specialists, and researchers focused on neurodevelopmental disorders. It offers programs like STEPS, OLTS and the Transition Resource Guide. Candice, who holds a Master’s in Education specializing in adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders, joined RARC full-time in 2015. She manages OLTS-Ontario and supports programs like STEPS and the Transition Resource Guide. Candice also delivers training on Assistive Technologies and learning strategies for post-secondary Accessibility Services Advisors.

Gillian Goldsmith is a member of the transition team at the Regional Assessment and Resource Centre (RARC) at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. RARC is a Centre of Excellence, that comprises clinical psychologists, educators, transition specialists, and researchers focused on neurodevelopmental disorders. Gillian has worked in the field of education for several years and has a wide range of experience supporting learners and developing curriculum. She works as the Transition Program Coordinator, overseeing all transition initiatives underway and in development at RARC. This includes the STEPS program, OLTS, the Transition Resource Guide, and other outreach programs.