Chapter Twelve
Share Your Story.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
— Chinese Proverb —
Students with disabilities benefit when caring adults create environments that help them develop successful, self-determined lives. By following guidelines presented in this book, teachers, parents, and mentors can help students with disabilities learn to do the following:
- Define success for themselves.
- Set personal, academic, and career goals, keeping their expectations high.
- Understand their abilities and disabilities and play to their strengths.
- Develop strategies to reach their goals.
- Use technology as an empowering tool.
- Work hard. Persevere. Be flexible.
- Develop a support network.
These seven steps were developed from the communications of successful people with disabilities who contributed content for this book as part of the DO-IT e-mentoring community.
Administrators of other mentoring communities should let the students and mentors in the community know that they too are becoming experts about self-determination and success strategies and that others can benefit from what they have learned. The following messages can be sent to protégés and mentors to encourage them to share their own stories and advice. The program administrator could compile the responses and share them anonymously on a program website, like the DO-IT community has done in the "Participant Responses" list at www.washington.edu/doit/creating-e-mentoring-community-how-do-it-does-it-and-how-you-can-do-it-too. Administrators can submit participant responses for possible inclusion on the DO-IT website by sending the messages to doit@uw.edu.
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Success
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Define success for yourself.
Send your views on one or more of the following to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
1a) Define what "success" means to you.
1b) What advice would you give teens with disabilities about defining and achieving success?
1c) What advice would you give to parents and other adults to help them help kids with disabilities define and achieve success?
1d) Share your views about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude.
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Goals
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Set personal, academic, and career goals.
Send your views on one or more of the following issues to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
2a) Tell how you set personal, academic, and/or career goals.
2b) Tell how people have helped you set goals.
2c) What advice would you give to parents, teachers, and mentors as they try to help young people with disabilities set personal, academic, and/or career goals and keep their expectations high?
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Abilities
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Understand your abilities and disabilities, and play to your strengths.
Send your views on one or more of the following issues to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
3a) Tell how you understand your abilities and disabilities and how this understanding helps you plan for success.
3b) What advice would you give to parents, teachers, and mentors as they try to help young people understand their abilities and disabilities and play to their strengths?
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Strategies
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Develop strategies to reach your goals.
Send your views on one or more of the following issues to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
4a) Describe a specific strategy you use to reach your goals.
4b) What advice would you give to parents, teachers, and mentors as they help young people with disabilities develop strategies to reach their goals?
4c) What advice would you give teens with disabilities about strategies for reaching their goals?
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Technology
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Use technology as an empowering tool.
Send your views on one or more of the following issues to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
5a) Tell what technology, including computers, adaptive technology, and the Internet, helps you maximize your independence and productivity in school or work.
5b) What advice would you give to parents and teachers about encouraging students with disabilities to use computers in school?
5c) Tell how computer technology supports your personal and social life and helps you give and receive help from others. For example, have you made friends on the Internet? Have you received help from someone, such as a mentor? Have you been a peer helper or mentor to someone else?
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Working Hard
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Work hard; persevere; be flexible.
Send your views on one or more of the following issues to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
6a) Share your views on the need for people with disabilities to work hard, persevere, and be flexible.
6b) What advice would you give to parents, teachers, and others about how they can encourage children with disabilities to work hard, persevere, and be flexible?
6c) Tell about a situation where you were willing to take a risk in order to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
E-Community Activity: Share Your Views on Support Network
Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.
Subject: Share your views: Develop a support network.
Send your views on one or more of the following issues to [email address]. Some of the responses may be compiled and shared anonymously in [a program newsletter/publication/website].
[name]
E-mentoring Administrator
7a) Tell how relatives, neighbors, teachers, church members, and/or other caring adults have helped you achieve success personally, socially, academically, or otherwise. You can also share stories about how adults in your life hindered your ability to succeed.
7b) What advice would you give to kids about the importance of developing positive relationships with caring adults in their lives?
7c) Tell about some of the activities you have been involved in and why they have been important in your life.
7d) What advice would you give parents, teachers, and mentors about encouraging young people with disabilities?
7e) Share your views on the importance of a satisfying social life. What special issues face students with disabilities interested in developing a social life? What strategies can be used to create a successful social life?