DEVELOPING SELF-ADVOCACY SKILLS

As high school students work diligently to prepare for their transition to college, it is clear that grades, activities, standardized test scores, etc. are all important factors to demonstrating to a college relevant information about the student.  However, there are students who can be a match for a college academically, but not have the skills to manage the college environment.  This is particularly true of students with learning differences or other challenges such as ADHD or autism.  Teaching this population of students the skills of self-awareness about their challenges and self-advocacy to manage their challenges is not often found in a high school curriculum. This puts these students at a disadvantage, as they might be quite academically capable, but lack the understanding of how to bridge the differences between high school and college.  

This article does a great job in offering suggestions on how students in high school can build self-advocacy skills.  In order to implement these suggestions, the student will need to have a strong degree of self-awareness about their challenges, which is key to this process.  The tips offered also encourage a student to learn about how college will be different from high school.  These skills are so important to the success of students, and I am hoping many families will take this information to heart.