Home » Health & Wellness » Disability Advocacy » Four Steps to Self-Advocacy

Four Steps to Self-Advocacy

© William Robb

When you become an advocate your first objective should be to change those things which are causing the problems. You will discover that this will necessitate changes in the status quo. This must change if things are to get better for the disabled. Be aware that what you are talking about means change and change is thought to be liberal. Don't get discouraged if your ideas appear to be rejected. Remember, Rome wasn't built in one day.

To those who have no idea how to become a self advocate, I will give you four steps which I have learned and use. They are effective because people now listen to what I say.

Step one - you must be conscious of any negative words in your vocabulary. Make an conscious effort to remove them and replace them with positive words. No one will listen to someone whom they consider to be just a complainer or a radical. So your first objective is to remove all negative words and replace them with positive ones.

Here is an example of negative vs. positive:

Use of Negative Words:

Dear Sirs, I have been discriminated against because I am disabled. If this is how you speak, no one will listen to you because they will believe you are nothing more than a complainer or a radical.

Change your approach by changing your words and people will listen.

Changing Negative Words to Positive and still saying the same thing.

Dear Sirs, it appears that the disabled do not have the same type of rights as their non-disabled counterparts. You have just said the same thing but you have deleted all negative words. If you do this you may discover that the public will not regard you as being a complainer or a radical.

One word of caution,when using the positive approach be prepared to back up your claim with facts and figures because they speak louder than words.

Step two - you must die to your disability. Don't overlook your limitations because, if you do, others may perceive you to be a hypocrite.

What does it mean to die to a disability? It means that you must realize that your disability is only one within a sea of disabilities. Once you realize this you are on the way to becoming an effective advocate.You will now be able to effectivally enlighten the public to the myrid of problems which the disabled must face. You may also discover that you aren't perceived to be a complainer or a radical.

The copyright of the article Four Steps to Self-Advocacy in Disability Advocacy is owned by . Permission to republish Four Steps to Self-Advocacy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.