Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Disclosure
Why, When, Where
and How
For
Self-Determination
And
Self-Advocacy
Connect the Dots of
Life!
Teach individuals to think and act on their own
behalf. These areas include:
What some experts say
about when to tell
children about their
disability.
“I usually encourage people to share a diagnosis when
a student begins commenting on frustrations of
‘not being like the other kids’ or ‘it's so
much easier for everyone else’.
That‘s often around 7-9 years of age.
Carol Gray
Director of The Gray Center for Social Learning
and Understanding
Developer of Social Stories and Comic Strip
Conversations
Author and international expert and speaker on
Autism and Social Understanding.
“My own opinion is that you should tell kids about their
diagnosis when they begin to notice that they’re different, or
begin to question things. I suppose the age will depend
on their level of awareness of that. My kids were 5 and
8 when I told them.
I know of a parent who waited until her son was 18, when
he saw a newspaper article about Liane Holliday Willey,
brought it to his mom, and said, ‘This is me, isn’t it? I just
always thought I was stupid!.’ That was a situation
where they waited too long! (He had been in special
education his entire life, but they had never told him why.)”
Laurel Hoekman
Executive Director of The Gray Center
for Social Learning and Understanding.
The Gray Center for
Social Learning and
Understanding
www.thegraycenter.org
Articles For Introducing
Children
To Their Disabilities
Hoekman, L. (Spring-Summer,
2002). Introducing Asperger’s
Syndrome. The Morning
News, pp.2-6.
Self-Advocacy:
comprises the
skills necessary to
stand up and
explain what one
Self-Advocacy
• Personal Responsibility
• Self-Determination and
Initiative
• Social Competence
• Vocational Competence
• Postsecondary Education
• Responding to a greeting
• Not interrupting
Chantal Sicile-Kira
Author of
Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum
Mother of a son with ASD
Nationally known author and presenter on Autism Spectum
Disorders
Who ?
When ?
Where ?
Important components to
know how to disclose
one’s disability
Who do I tell?_______________
What do I say?______________
When do I tell?_______________
Where do I tell?_____________
How do I tell?_________________
Stephan Shore
Adult with ASD
Internationally known author, presenter and consultant on
adult issues pertinent to advocacy, disclosure, education,
relationships, and employment.
Special attention to developing a
sense of self-determination for
students with disabilities is critical
to help ameliorate the adult
assistance typically received in the
public schools and elsewhere.
This adult assistance can result in
an over reliance on other people’s
opinions for decisions that should
be made for oneself. The self-
initiated IEP aids in teaching those
with disabilities “to act as the
primary causal agent in one’s
life and making choices and
decisions regarding one’s
quality of like free from undue
external influence or
interference”.
Michael Wehmeyer
Teaching Self-Determination to Students With Disabilities: Basic Skills for
Successful Transition
Name ___________
Person Centered Plan and IEP
Date ____________
ATTENDING:
School:
Home:
Work:
Social:
WHO AM I?
FEARS:
WORRIES:
DREAMS:
GOALS:
Students participate in
the IEP/PCP as much as
they are able
Remember accommodations in
the workplace are only
provided when a worker
discloses his or her disability
and requests job
accommodations.
Sensory stimuli can feel very intense to me. If you must talk to me,
please do so in a quiet voice. Even if I have headphones on, I can
hear you. Please do not touch me without warning me first, and then
do so only if absolutely necessary. If you have to tough me, please do
so firmly. I do not tolerate flashing lights well either, and might appear
to panic.
Kassiane A. Sibley
Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum
Sample Index Card: General
Information
• Eye contact
• Bright or flashing lights
• Sudden sounds
• Light or unexpected touches
www.ncwd-youth.info/.
www.researchautism.org
www.dol.gov/odep/.
Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and
Disclosure for People on the
Autism Spectrum