Effects of a Self-advocacy Intervention on the Ability of High School Students with High Incidence Disabilities to Advocate for Academic Accommodations

Book excerpt: One factor that may contribute to the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary educational settings may be their ability to advocate for academic accommodations. By incorporating self-determination practices into the curriculum and transition process during high school, students with disabilities may acquire the self-advocacy skills to be successful in postsecondary settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a self-advocacy intervention on the ability of five high school students with high incidence disabilities to request academic accommodations in a high school general education course. Specifically, this study was a systematic replication of Walker and Test that focused on the impact of the Self-Advocacy and Conflict Resolution (SACR) training program on the ability of students to request academic accommodations. This study extended the research of Walker and Test by including (a) high school students with disabilities as participants, (b) a disability awareness lesson that incorporated information from each student's IEP, and (c) student self-evaluations of their video recorded role-plays. A multiple probe design across participants was employed to evaluate the effects of the SACR on 14-targeted behaviors. Findings indicated a functional relation between the SACR and the ability of students to request accommodations. As a result of instruction using the SACR, students acquired and maintained the self-advocacy skills, and then generalized the skills to the general education setting. Students and teachers also validated the importance of the goals, procedures, and effects of the intervention. Findings from this study are discussed along with limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for educational practice.