Self Advocacy Resources

Self-Advocacy Online

Here's a resource to share with youth with disabilities and others, a website that helps you learn about self-advocacy: Exercise, speaking up, relationships, getting organized, and living a healthy life.

Self Care and Independent Living Skills

This Fast Facts discusses specific actions that teachers, schools, and families can take to promote independent living skills in youth with disabilities.

Self-Determination and Self-Advocacy

This Fast Facts operationally defines the evidence-based predictors of post school success so that parents and local educators understand the components necessary to develop, implement, and evaluate secondary transition programs based on research.

Speak Up for Yourself!

This is a great short video (3:56), produced by the Figureheads and youth self-advocates during WI FACETS' 2013 Summer Youth Leadership Summit. Great to drop into self-advocacy training. (P.S. The daughter of Nelsinia Wroblewski, R4PTAC Multicultural Specialist, is featured in the video!)

Swisher Video Resume

Here's another short video (1:22) that you can use to show self-advocates who may have difficulty with in-person interviews an effective way to enhance a job application by including a video resume showcasing their experience and skills as well as their ability to communicate.

Opening Doors to Self-Determination

This handbook deals with skills students will need after high school, self-determination and self-advocacy skills. Self-determination is a mix of skills students will use throughout life, including personal beliefs and values and skills that empower them to make choices and take control of their lives according to their own interests, needs, and abilities. Self-advocacy is the process of speaking for oneself and knowledge of one's own rights, wishes, needs, and strengths. 

Tip Sheets for Youth by Youth: Going to College, Flying, Online Dating

PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope)

PATH is a great futures planning tool that can be used to assist a youth with a disability create a roadmap for the future which can look as far as 10 years ahead.  PATH was developed by Jack Pearpoint, John O'Brien and Marsha Frost a number of years ago, but it is still a powerful tool that gets people to doable first steps. 

The PATH process often marks the start of a "passing of the torch" in which the youth takes more responsibility in advocating for his/her own needs and begins a climb toward greater self-determination in decision-making. At the completion of a PATH workshop, there is almost always a visible increase in self-confidence and desire to be independent on the part of the youth, and parents routinely express their own optimism about their child's future after participating in the PATH process. Great to have staff trained in PATH so that they can lead PATH training for families.

Online Fundraising until the End

It's that time of year when all non-profit organizations are making their final push for donations before January 1st. From Blackbaud's Charitable Giving Report, online giving increased 13.5% in 2013, with small organizations having the greatest online increases.  Based on the Network for Good Digital Giving Index for 2013, 30% of annual giving happens in December with 10% in just the last 3 days of December.  The prime time on December 31^st for online donations is from 12pm to 7pm.  So what are you waiting for?!  There is still time to make those final asks of 2014.   

Here are some tips to help your year-end online fundraising be successful.  Check out the following links, there is a lot of good information out there.

35 Expert Tips for End-of-Year Fundraising

#1 tip - Don't ask people to "donate".  Use other words that appeal to their emotions and identity such as "join" or "build".

Subject Lines for Your Last-Minute Email Appeals (knock them off)

#1 tip - Subject lines get emails opened.  They should read like lines from the cover of a magazine - intriguing, energetic, and with a sense of urgency.

8 Ways to Make the Most of Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign

#1 tip - Make sure a link to your donation page is on all your social media platforms.

4 Ways to Win Over Year-End Donors

#1 tip -Sell your impact and think of other ways donors can give than just with their money.  Provide that information on your donation page.

Do Responsive Websites Raise More Money?

#1 tip - Is your website responsive?  A responsive website is optimized for tablets, smartphones and desktops.  It looks like donors are 34% more likely to make a gift after reaching a donation form on a responsive website.

Creative Ideas for Year-End Fundraising

#1 tip - Increase online visitors to your website by asking them a question on Facebook, prompting them to search your website for the answer.  While they're searching, they learn about the organization and are shown messages asking them to give.  Hopefully they will be inspired and donate!

14 Must-Know Stats About Fundraising, Social Media, and Mobile Technology

#1 tip - 55% of those who engage with nonprofits via social media have been inspired to take further action.  Be active in social media!  Allow people to get to know the staff behind the work and feel a part of the community.

References:

Blackbaud Charitable Giving Report          

Network for Good Digital Giving Index

 

  

"Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success," is a curriculum developed by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) focused on teaching "soft" or workforce readiness skills to youth, including youth with disabilities. Created for youth development professionals as an introduction to workplace interpersonal and professional skills, the curriculum is targeted for youth ages 14 to 21 in both in-school and out-of-school environments. The basic structure of the program is comprised of modular, hands-on, engaging activities that focus on six key skill areas: communication, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, networking, problem solving and critical thinking, and professionalism.

Click here to order a free copy of this DVD and to download the curriculum. Video and materials are available in Spanish.

The National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) is the largest TA center ever funded by OSERS ($8.7 million).  This center replaces the Regional Resource Center Network as the primary provider of TA to states to build their capacity to support school districts and local early intervention programs to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.  NCSI will play a major role in helping states with their Results-Driven Accountability work. The parent centers housing the 6 regional PTACs, Native American PTAC, Military PTAC, and Center for Parent Information & Resources are partners in this project to provide TA to states around shared leadership and authentic stakeholder engagement. There are 4 working teams (each with 2 RPTACs) - data use, knowledge utilization, systems change, communication & collaboration. Watch for the NCIS website to be launched soon. Other partners are: American Institutes for Research, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Council of Chief State School Officers, SRI International, and Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. NCSI will provide differentiated TA - universal (for all states), targeted (for needs assistance & meets requirements states), and intensive (needs intervention states).

Region 4 PTAC Conference  

June 23-25, 2015

Traverse City, Michigan!

Our 2015 conference will once again offer the opportunity to earn a mini certificate in Nonprofit Management, through our collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The on-site portion of this programming will take place on Tuesday, June 23. The full conference will begin on Wednesday, June 24th and conclude on Thursday, June 25th.

Information on the Traverse City  area.