Advocacy and Inclusion in Civil Rights Movement - Essay Example

Advocacy and Inclusion Advocacy and Inclusion Advocacy as a civil rights movement for people with disabilities in the United States traces its roots to the People First movement. The advocacy movement was modelled after civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s, including those for African Americans and women, and advocacy groups for parents of individuals with disabilities, most notably The Arc.1 Additionalmore, the emphasis on normalisation and deinstitutionalization in the 1970s and the self-help movements of the 1980s spurred the emergence of the advocacy movement for adults with disabilities in the United States (Landesman & Butterfield, 1987). The independent living movement also fostered advocacy and provided a springboard for adult advocacy activism (Brooke, Barcus, & Inge, 1991). Individuals with disabilities who are strong advocates often challenge the perceptions of others who view them as incapable of making decisions about their own lives and needing professionals for guidance and protection. This overprotection by authority figures and fostered dependence on others to articulate one's needs has negatively affected the autonomy of individuals with disabilities. Literature in both disability and educational research has identified the development of advocacy skills as crucial to the successful transition of students with disabilities into adult life. On the other hand, research (National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research) has also specified that advocacy talents and chances to advocate are often not integrated in the teaching of students with disabilities. (Stoddard et al, 1998) Advocacy is a notion and skill related with autonomy and research by National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has recommended that people who are self-determined have better post-school results. Wehmeyer and Schwartz (1997) found a relationship between employment success after school and the acquisition of self-determination skills and cited the importance of an individual's capability to advocate as a step toward self-determination. Wehmeyer and Palmer (2003) extended this research in a survey of students' post-school outcomes. In their study, post-school outcomes were compared for students with high and low self-determination scores during their final year in high school. Students with high levels of self-determination (of which advocacy is an important sub-skill) demonstrated higher levels of financial independence across a variety of indicators, such as buying one's own groceries and getting sick leave and health insurance remuneration in their jobs. However, the literature also indicates that students need deliberate teaching in advocacy and self-determination skills. Pocock et al. (2002) concluded that developing a school culture that supports the emerging advocacy skills of students and provides opportunities to practice skills as they are taught and modelled in the classroom was the key to the success of their Programme. Similarly, Zickel and Arnold (2001) portrayed the rights of their education planning procedure that students established after partaking in an advocacy skill Programme for elementary school students related to the development of the Individualised Education Programme (IEP). It shows that advocacy skills are well thought-out and significant at all grade levels. While Lock and Layton (2001) pointed to the necessity for advocacy skills at the post-secondary level, other educational researchers have highlighted the importance of building such skills at younger ages to make possible more important, faultless changes. Arnold and Czamanske (1991), Barrie and McDonald (2002), and Zickel and Arnold (2001) all emphasised the need for students to learn about themselves, so that they can communicate what they need at younger ages. Although some support exists in the literature for the possible results of teaching advocacy skills, Algozzine et al, (2001) found that interventions to teach advocacy skills most often focused on students with learning disabilities (LD) in high school. Additional research as well as Algozzine et al’s (2001), research on advocacy interferences has continued to emerge in the professional literature A review of the literature was carried out using the Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC) and Ovid Database's PsycINFO electronic databases from 1972 through 2003. Search terms included advocacy, violence, self-awareness, empowerment, disabilities, involvement, and teaching. Fourteen of the 18 intervention studies listed in Algozzine et al. that addressed advocacy met the criteria for inclusion as data-based intervention studies, and 3 of the 7 studies reviewed by Merchant and Gajar met these criteria. Knowledge of Self A first action toward advocacy is to gain knowledge of one's own welfare, likings, strengths, needs, learning style, and characteristics of one's disability. Fifteen of the 20 (75%) data-based intervention studies on advocacy described the impact of the intervention on self-awareness or self-knowledge. The importance of self-knowledge to advocacy is additional authenticated by the fact that of the seven studies reviewed by Merchant and Gajar (1997), all addressed self-knowledge, self-awareness, or understanding one's own disability in their teaching. For example, Arnold and Czamanske (1991) and Brinckerhoff (1994) assisted college students with identifying the details of their LD, learning styles, and disability language to promote their capability to advocate for classroom accommodations. Similarly, Durlak et al. (1994) measured high school students' capability to state the nature of their LD, to judge the impact of their LD on academic and social act, and to identify strategies that perk up their performance as critical mechanisms of advocacy. Finally, Aune (1991) trained high school students to appreciate and recognize their strengths and weaknesses as an action toward developing their advocacy skills. Knowledge of Rights One more action toward advocacy is knowing one's rights as a resident, as an individual with a disability, and as a student getting services under federal law. Eight (40%) of the 20 studies studied the effect of intervention on an individual's contact of their rights. Communication All (100%) of the 20 data-based intervention studies included communication skill development as a means to promote advocacy. This included various subcomponents, such as arbitration, opinion, and negotiation as well as body language and listening skills. Leadership The final component of our advocacy conceptual framework is leadership. Only four (20%) of the data-based studies calculated skills associated with leadership. In these studies, leadership was specially related to student management of their IEP or transition meeting. For example, Wehmeyer and Lawrence (1995) included teaching on impactive teaming and leadership in a meeting set-up in their study, which measured four components of self-determination. The restricted number of studies connected to leadership as a part of advocacy may relate to Johnson's (1999) study that one can be an impactive advocate without being a leader of others. However, advocacy at the system level need leadership. For example, Browning, Thorin, and Rhoades (1984) finished from their survey of advocacy group advisors that leadership roles, group organisation, group unity, and political course knowledge all developed during the growth of an advocacy organisation for individuals with disabilities. The Arc's (1992) resource booklet on the formation of advocacy groups suggested that members should create decision-making rules, elect leadership positions, expand membership through presentations, become involved with charities and local government, and network with other advocacy groups. Describing impactive consumer advocacy, Turner (1992) provided suggestions for selecting a leader, communicating among the membership, and establishing a funding source. References Algozzine, B., Browder, D., Karvonen, M., Test, D., & Wood, W. (2001). Impacts of interventions to promote self-determination for individuals with disabilities. Review of Educational Research, 71, 219-277. Arnold, E., & Czamanske, J. (1991). Can I make it? A transition Programme for college bound learning disabled students and their parents. Paper presented at the Council for Exceptional Children 69th Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA. Aune, E. (1991). A transition model for post-secondary-bound students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 6, 177-187. Barrie, W., & McDonald, J. (2002). Administrative support for student-led individualised education Programmes. Remedial and Special Education, 23, 116-122. Brinckerhoff, L. C. (1994). Developing impactive self-advocacy skills in college-bound students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 29, 229-237. Brooke, V., Barcus, M., & Inge, K. (Eds.). (1991). Consumer advocacy and supported employment: A vision for the future. Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Centre. Browning, P., Thorin, E., & Rhoades, C. (1984). A national profile of self-help/self-advocacy groups of people with mental retardation. Mental Retardation, 22, 226-230. Durlak, C., Rose, E., & Bursuck, W. (1994). Preparing high school students with learning disabilities for the transition to postsecondary education: Teaching the skills of self-determination. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 51-60. Johnson, J. R. (1999). Leadership and self-determination. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 14, 4-16. Landesman, S., & Butterfield, E. C. (1987). Normalization and deinstitutionalization of mentally retarded individuals: Controversy and facts. American Psychologist, 42, 809-816 Lock, R., & Layton, C. (2001). Succeeding in postsecondary ed through self-advocacy. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(2), 66-71. Merchant, D., & Gajar, A. (1997). A review of the literature on self-advocacy components in transition Programmes for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 8, 223-231. Pocock, A., Lambros, S., Karvonen, M., Test, D., Algozzine, B., Wood, W., et al. (2002). Successful strategies for promoting self-advocacy among students with LD: The LEAD group. Intervention in School and Clinic, 37, 209-216. Stoddard, S., Jans, L., Ripple, J. & Kraus, L. (1998). Chartbook on work and disability in the United States: An InfoUse report. Washington, D.C.: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The Arc. (1992). Self-advocacy: Supporting the vision. Arlington, TX: Author. Turner, E. (1992). Impactive consumer advocacy. In V. Brooke, M. Barcus, & K. Inge (Eds.), Consumer advocacy and supported employment: A vision for the future. (pp. 49-58). Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Centre. Wehmeyer, M., & Lawrence, M. (1995). Whose future is it anyway? Promoting student involvement in transition planning. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 18, 69-83. Wehmeyer, M., & Palmer, S. (2003). Adult outcomes for students with cognitive disabilities three-years after high school: The impact of self-determination. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 38, 131-144. Wehmeyer, M., & Schwartz, M. (1997). Self-determination and positive adult outcomes; A follow-up study of youth with mental retardation or learning disabilities. Exceptional Children. 63, 245-255. Zickel, J., & Arnold, E. (2001). Putting the 1 in the IEP. Educational Leadership, 59(3), 71-73. Read More