September 2016

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF

This month's unit provides lessons and activities about the importance of speaking up for yourself and knowing when and how to speak up including activities in the Transition Passport: Personal Life/Evaluation Tools. As we assist our young adults in the transition from school to work, it is necessary that they receive training in self-advocacy. Self-advocacy begins with knowing about yourself, your rights and the types of assistance available to you. This unit will provide our young adults with the tools needed to learn about themselves so they can speak up more effectively.

The unit stories help young adults learn the importance of sharing your wants and needs because nobody knows what you want better than you do. In the first story, a young girl who cannot talk and uses a wheelchair is able to speak up with the help of support people and electronic devices. With the appropriate help, she can be more independent and express herself. In the second story, a young man prepares for his IEP meeting so he can take a more active role and lead the meeting. He works with his parents and teachers to think through some important questions, which will help him to understand what he wants for his future. Three articles offer more information and activities that give our young adults the opportunity to learn about themselves by exploring their strengths, challenges, likes and dislikes, support people and to practice speaking up.

Regular monthly lessons are provided which offer the opportunity to practice speaking up in various daily life situations. Wants and needs are addressed in banking and budgeting where the importance of budgeting for needs before spending money on wants is stressed. Daily living skills involved in cooking are part of a regular monthly lesson offering five recipes where our young adults can express their likes and dislikes of the meal preparation or taste of the meal. Social and communication skills are the focus of lessons presenting daily social trivia scenarios offering more opportunity for our young adults to speak up.

Employment continues to be a regular focus for several lessons each month. Lessons include exploring different jobs, reading job ads, completing job applications and practicing interview skills. Simple, realistic scenarios address job skills and interactions at work.