Self Advocacy

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Anyone have tips on how I can improve my child's self-advocacy skills?
He'll be going into fourth grade. Thanks

This worries me, because to advocate for yourself you have to be assertive. This is tough for aspies. You could practice scenarios with him at home, and that might be helpful. It is just a shame that a fourth grader has to learn to advocate for himself. The school system is not doing it's job at all!

There's a book about it - Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum - all the authors are on the spectrum. Very well-written (I just finished it last week.) They use examples of how to learn self-advocacy at all age levels.

No, the school district is doing exactly what their job is. Make sure that even if the kids tries to advocate for themselves, that they are shamed, insulted, and assaulted. This way, the child will know their place in the hierarchy which is the bottom if you do not fit in.

Um, well .... yes and no. Depends on the precise situation.

My childrens' school does teach self-advocacy. As in, stand up for yourself against a bully. Tell the teacher after class if there is an issue with an assingment. And so on.

What's working for my son is cub scouts.

There, he's learning how to look after himself. He has a sixer (peer group leader) who he can talk to and get help from - plus of course, he's got the scout leaders.