We have four pictures of youth, arranged horizontally. First is a Caucasian girl in front of a map. Next, we have a young Asian man doing some construction work inside a house. Third, a Caucasian man with Down's syndrome works in an office. Finally, a young African-American woman smiling.
Youth Ability in Skilled Trades

Youth with Disabilities and Employment

Self-Advocacy

The main goal of self advocacy is personal development and goal fulfillment.

Examples of self advocacy

  • Making others aware of common, negative, or ignorant words and replacing them with positive ones.
  • Ensure to present themselves and their disability in a confident, knowledgeable manner

Self advocacy will result in a more accurate and positive perception of persons with disabilities within the general population's attitude.

Considerations for persons with disabilities who want to self advocate in the workplace:

  • Education and understanding of one's disability is necessary and extremely important.
  • Be aware of accommodations, strategies, and adaptive technology available and how to access it.
  • Be sure to review and evaluate one's performance. Make self-initiated change and be open to suggestions.
Self-advocates in the workplace can be effective by:
  1. understanding their disability
  2. thinking about accommodations and technology
  3. identifying who to discuss needs with
  4. knowing how to ask for what they want
  5. reevaluating the effectiveness of their strategies and keeping in contact with their employer about new accommodation needs and how the current accommodations have impacted the employer or company.

Self advocacy is not a perfect solution to removing ignorant perceptions in the workforce. However, it is a step in direction of equality and should be coupled with additional resources, support and increased awareness.