Raising the Cap Series 
Self-Advocacy Tools
Online Tools for Self-Advocacy
The Transition Improvement Grant has developed and revised several online tools to assist educators in providing instruction in self-advocacy to students with IEPs. Students who are able to self-advocate for their rights, and abilities are more successful with their post school goals as they are able to ask for accommodations on jobs and in college settings.
Speak Up! Becoming a Self -Advocate-This curriculum teaches students to “Speak Up” and to develop self-advocacy skills. Through the “Speak Up” Becoming a Self-Advocate curriculum, students will learn important skills and knowledge, including: using disability-related terminology, self-assessing their disability and accommodation needs, identifying possible career interests, understanding laws and legal rights, and planning for education, training and employment.
Wisconsin Self-Directed Transition Planning Lesson Plans-These 15 lesson plan starters are intended to be used by teachers to support self-direction with the Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) with the goal of students directing their IEP process. These lessons are aligned with the Wisconsin Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) application and were designed to be used by educators to support self-directed transition planning and instruction. The lessons are to be considered “starter lessons” and used in small sections or to develop an entire semester course. Each lesson introduces a basic concept of transition planning but also outlines extension activities to be used when creating a full course curriculum.
New Way of Thinking-The purpose of A New Way of Thinking is to assist students in developing self-confidence. This guide was created for middle school students and students new to discovering their disability. What makes A New Way of Thinking unique is that it was adapted from the Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network which was created by youth for youth. Also, the guide has a chapter on Automatic Negative Thoughts referred to as ANTs. This chapter was adapted from the work of Dr. Amen who is a world renowned, award-winning, New York Times bestselling psychiatrist. Dr. Amen has dedicated his work to changing the lives of people all over the world.
Self-Directed Career and College Ready Individualized Education Program or CCR IEP Guide-This document was created to help inform students about the CCR IEP forms and process in a student friendly way. You can use this document to support pre-planning for a student’s CCR IEP meeting and as a way for the student to understand their CCR IEP. The CCR IEP Guide is not just a compliance document. When used with your CCR IEP, it can be a tool in making positive changes for students with IEPs.
WiTransition App-The transition planning app was created to increase self-direction and self-advocacy for all Wisconsin youth in the transition planning process. The app is designed to help students and family members participate in the transition planning process. The questions in the app help students give input into their Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) and provide the student’s voice during IEP meetings and as they plan for their future after high school.
The Self-Advocacy Suite
To view the Self-Advocacy Tools video which highlights all 5 resources within the Self-Advocacy Suite visit this link. For more information on the Self-Advocacy Suite, contact your TIG Regional Coordinator.