Self Advocacy Guide for Students with ADHD

Your child might have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), a 504 Plan, or no formal ADHD accommodations at all. Regardless, the first weeks of school often come down to the same question: Does the teacher actually understand your child’s needs?

Students with accommodations do not always use them because asking can feel too uncomfortable or risky in the moment. Students without a formal plan may also struggle to explain how they learn best, leaving teachers to determine their needs and accommodations through trial and error.

In this webinar, ADHD coach and coach trainer Brooke Schnittman will teach parents practical ways to help students understand their learning needs and communicate them at school. This includes creating a one-page letter that a student can share with each teacher at the beginning of the school year. The letter helps students translate formal accommodations into language they understand and can use, or simply communicate, “Here’s who I am and what helps me learn.”

Attendees will also learn why self-advocacy requires more executive functioning and emotional regulation than it may be immediately apparent. Brooke will share a clear process and specific phrases that students can practice before difficult situations occur. Teachers and coaches will learn how to reinforce the same language and support students in using it in the classroom and during coaching sessions.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• Why students with ADHD and learning differences may freeze when they need to ask for help
• The self-awareness, executive function, and emotional regulation skills required for self-advocacy
• Why telling a student to “just speak up” rarely works and what adults can do instead
• How to help students identify their strengths, challenges, learning needs, and most useful accommodations
• A four-step process for creating a one-page student self-advocacy letter
• How to translate IEP and 504 accommodations into language students understand and can use
• Specific phrases students can rehearse before difficult or stressful situations
• How parents, teachers, and coaches can reinforce self-advocacy across home, school, and coaching sessions
• How successful, supported attempts at self-advocacy build confidence over time