NOW WHAT? Impact of a Self-Advocacy Strategy on Middle School Students with Disabilities

Abstract

Students with disabilities do not develop self-advocacy skills on their own; however, instruction in these skills is often lacking in special education programs. This lack of self-advocacy skills negatively impacts the ability of these students to participate in the general education setting. The purpose of this study was to twofold; specifically, it sought to determine whether middle school students with disabilities could be taught to recognize the need for self-advocacy and to employ appropriate help-seeking behaviors using the NOW WHAT? Strategy. Additionally, the study served as a field test for the lesson package. Thirty-seven middle school students with disabilities participated in an author-created, 12-lesson package over a six-week period. Student-reported levels of self-advocacy were measured pre- and post-intervention using the Self-Advocacy Measure for Middle School (SAMMS). Pre- and post-intervention interviews were used to collect data on student perceptions of their ability to use self-advocacy in the general education setting. Quantitative results indicated student knowledge of self-advocacy increased but did not generalize to the general education classroom. Qualitative data provided some insight into the lack of change observed.