Self-Advocacy Skills

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.
~Thomas Edison

Things to remember
You are a capable student who has been accepted to UMM. Access to education is among your civil rights. Disability Services (DS) can help remove barriers to learning and success that you may find in your path. Many students have heard stories about the negative impacts of registering with DS. For example, a recent UMM grad was told by a high school counselor that if he registered for DS, he would not be able to participate in athletics. This is a myth, and so is any other story of this kind. If you are unsure about the implications of registering for support through DS, call our office to talk with us (x6178).

If you are a person who benefited from disability accommodation as a child/young adult, you may be used to parents and specialists making arrangements to ensure your success. Now that you are in college, the playing field is a little different.

• Although your IEP (individualized education plans) from K-12 may be part of your file in UMM Disability Services, you do not have an IEP or other specialists at UMM, and your parents may be far away. UMM Disability Services is an advocacy office that can discuss and arrange appropriate accommodations for you and help coordinate services.
  
  
• If you do not sign a FERPA (Federal Education Right to Privacy Act) form, UMM faculty/staff cannot discuss anything about you with your parents. Sign a FERPA form if you want your parents to participate in discussions of the services that would benefit you. You can sign a FERPA form at any time.
  
  
• One of the hallmarks of the UMM experience is a very friendly, collaborative learning atmosphere, and you should not hesitate to visit during an office hour if you are beginning to struggle in a course. Your profs are there to help you and they want feedback about what is going well and what could be improved in a course. Chances are good that other students share similar feelings and struggles, but if you are only talking among yourselves about the issues, things may not get better for you.
  
  
• BE PROACTIVE: As soon as you begin to struggle in a course, take the following steps:
  
  
  1. Talk to your prof about study skills specific to the field: even if you are not registered with Disability Services (or you are not a person with a disability), your prof will have lots of good advice, and may not mind making minor adjustments to a course if it will help you (and others) succeed.
     
     
  2. Follow your prof’s advice! Attend study sessions, sign up for free tutoring, visit profs office on a weekly basis, etc.
     
     
  3. If you have a documented disability, once you are registered for Disability Services and have discussed what you will need to succeed, DS will give you a letter detailing accommodations for each of your courses. It is in your best interests to share the letter with your professors and your academic advisor early, although you may choose not to do so. If you choose not to request accommodation from your professor, your prof is not obligated to provide it. S/he is not obligated to allow you to make up work or retake exams that you may have performed poorly on because you chose not to advocate for your needs.
     
     
  4. Don’t just show your prof the letter. Visit an office hour to introduce yourself and your needs. If you have past experiences with accommodations, discuss your successes and failures. You know yourself best. Remember, you’re both human beings! Collaborating in the learning process may be a lot of fun. Your prof actually expects to help students in this way (Go figure!). Visiting early in the semester to be proactive about what would help you is a measure of your self-respect.
     

6 quick tips for self advocacy (a.k.a. how to talk to your prof)*
*whether or not you are officially entitled to reasonable accommodation

1. State your situation
2. Describe the challenge
3. Make a specific request
4. State the benefits of meeting this request
5. Be prepared to negotiate or propose alternatives
6. Listen

If you find yourself resisting asking for help or registering for Disability Services when you know you are entitled to support, ask yourself why. If you feel a sense of shame about your weaknesses, let go of that: we all have them. Self-esteem is a terrible thing to waste, and so is an education.

Good self-advocacy skills are life skills. They will go a long way in ensuring your success at UMM will serve you in countless ways in the years to come.