Most of us can think of people in our lives who supplied information, offered advice, presented a challenge, initiated a friendship, or simply expressed an interest in our development as a person. Without their intervention we might have remained unaware of a resource, neglected to consider an exciting opportunity, progressed toward a goal at a slower pace, or given up on a goal altogether.

Supportive relationships with peers and adults can positively impact the transition period following high school when a student's structured environment ends and precollege support systems are no longer in place. Within social support systems, participants provide what has been defined as communication support behavior, "whereby individuals within a formal social system offer and receive information and support from one another in a one-way or reciprocal manner" (Hill, Bahniuk, Dobos, & Rouner, 1989, p. 356).

Mentor Support

The term mentor comes from Homer's Odyssey, in which a man named Mentor was assigned the task of educating the son of Odysseus. Protégé (or mentee) refers to the person who is the focus of the mentor's efforts. Mentoring has long been associated with a variety of activities including counseling, role modeling, job shadowing, advice-giving, and networking.

Young people with disabilities can be positively influenced by observing role models with similar disabilities successfully pursuing education and careers that they might otherwise have thought impossible for themselves. Mentors can help their protégés explore career options, set academic and career goals, examine different lifestyles, develop social and professional contacts, identify resources, strengthen interpersonal skills, achieve higher levels of autonomy, and develop a sense of identity and competence. Information, guidance, motivation, resources, and emotional support provided by mentors can help young people successfully transition from high school into the less structured environments of postsecondary education, employment, and community living.

Protégés report benefits of mentoring to include

• better attitudes toward school and the future,
• decreased likelihood of initiating drug or alcohol use,
• greater feelings of academic competence,
• improved academic performance, and
• more positive relationships with friends and family (Campbell-Whatley, 2001).

Protégés are not the only ones who benefit from mentoring relationships. Adults can also find satisfaction in their helping roles. Common positive effects for mentors include

• increased self-esteem,
• feeling of accomplishment,
• insights into childhood and adolescence, and
• personal gain, such as increased patience, a sense of effectiveness, and the acquisition of new skills or knowledge (Rhodes, Grossman, and Resch, 2000).

In summary, "mentoring is a win-win situation. Young people win, adult volunteers win. It is, quite frankly, society at large that is eventually the real winner" (Saito & Blyth, 1992, p. 60).

Group Mentoring

At least in part because of a shortage of available adult mentors, group mentoring programs have emerged. Typically, in this model one mentor is assigned to a small group of young people. In group mentoring, mentors cannot provide as much individual attention to each young person as they might in the traditional one-to-one model, but positive outcomes can also be achieved as a result of participant interactions. Although, as with one-to-one mentoring, most group mentors want to develop personal relationships with protégés, they also promote positive peer interactions. Participants report that group mentoring helps them improve social skills, relationships with individuals outside of the group, and, to a lesser extent, academic performance and attitudes (Herrera, Vang, & Gale, 2002; Sipe & Roder, 1999).

Peer and Near-Peer Support

Peers can offer some of the same benefits to young people as mentors. Like mentors, peers can coach and counsel, offer information and advice, provide encouragement, act as sounding boards, function as positive role models, and promote a sense of belonging. Peers of the same age offer unique opportunities for sharing, are easier for participants to approach than adult mentors, and typically develop relationships that are longer lasting than those established with adults. While mentoring relationships are primarily one-way helping relationships, peer relationships offer a higher degree of mutual assistance, with both individuals giving and receiving support. Peers facing similar challenges related to their disabilities can share strategies to overcome disability-related barriers.

Relationships with individuals who are a year or two older than protégés, sometimes called near-peers, offer a powerful combination of the benefits of peer and mentor relationships. Near-peers and protégés can discuss issues such as whom on campus to tell about a disability, how to communicate with professors about accommodations, how to live independently, and how to make friends. In addition, near-peers can become empowered as they come to see themselves as contributors and role models.

Mentor, peer, and near-peer relationships have the potential to provide students with disabilities with psychosocial, academic, and career support, thereby lessening or eliminating some of the unique challenges they face. However, these types of relationships can be limited by physical distance, time, and schedule constraints and, in some cases, disability-related communication barriers (e.g., speech impairments, deafness).

 

For these relationships to be successful, it is often necessary to match young people and mentors who are in close geographic locations. Even if such relationships can be established, communication, transportation, and scheduling problems must be resolved. In short, arranging traditional in-person mentoring and peer support for this population is problematic.

Computer-mediated communication (CMC), wherein people use computers and networks to communicate with one another, makes communication across great distances and different time zones convenient, eliminating the time and geographic constraints of in-person communication. CMC facilitates the development of communities for people with common interests, regardless of their physical locations. Using electronic mail, text messaging, chat rooms, web-based forums, and other technology to sustain meaningful relationships between people who are geographically disconnected allows us to reconsider the concept of community as a physical location. The lack of social cues and social distinctions like gender, age, disability, race, and physical appearance in CMC can make even shy participants willing to share their views.

The development of computers and assistive technology makes electronic communication possible for all individuals, regardless of disability. For example, a person who is blind or has a disability that makes reading difficult can use text-to-speech software to read aloud text presented on a computer screen. An individual with limited use of his hands can use a trackball, a headstick, speech input, or an alternative keyboard to control the computer; and a person with a speech or hearing impairment may be able to participate more fully in communications when they are conducted electronically.

Online discussion groups, chat rooms, web-based forums, and other CMC vehicles have emerged as popular tools for interaction between individuals within groups. When CMC is the mode for communication between mentors and their protégés, it has been called e-mentoring, online mentoring, or telementoring. As in traditional on-site mentoring, the mentor, often an adult, develops a close relationship with a younger person in order to promote his or her well-being and success.

One advantage of an online mentoring community (or electronic mentoring community, or e-community), as compared to more traditional one-to-one electronic mentoring, is that mentors observe the communications of other mentors as well as the responses of all of the young people in the community. In this format, once basic guidelines are provided, mentors learn effective mentoring techniques on the job. They can also more effectively and efficiently share their expertise and insights, since no individual is responsible for providing all mentoring communications with a specific protégé in the community. With this approach, each participant benefits from the expertise of a group of mentors, peers, and near-peers.

In DO-IT programs, mentor, peer, and near-peer support sometimes occurs in person, but most of the time is delivered through its e-mentoring community. Participants are mentored within a group, and many contributors are included in interactions. Participants also disseminate academic and career-enhancing resources that benefit all community members. Positive aspects of DO-IT's e-community approach include the following:

• Individuals benefit from the experiences of a large group of mentors, peers, and near-peers.
• Mentors can specialize in the areas of their strongest expertise.
• The program performs successfully even though some mentors are less available and skilled than others.
• Using asynchronous, text-based communication on the Internet eliminates barriers faced by other forms of communication that are imposed by location, schedule, and disability.
• The program administrator views all group communications that take place, thus finding it easy to guide and contribute to conversations.
• Mentors learn techniques from each other by attending to the communications that take place.

 

Most DO-IT Mentors are college students, faculty, engineers, scientists, or other professionals who have disabilities. Protégés are participants in the DO-IT Scholars and DO-IT Pals programs (DO-IT, 2006a,c; Burgstahler, 2007). These students are making plans for postsecondary education and careers. They all have disabilities, including vision, hearing, mobility, and health impairments and specific learning disabilities. Frequent electronic communications and personal contacts bring DO-IT protégés, near-peers, and mentors together to facilitate academic, career, and personal achievements.

Introducing protégés to DO-IT Mentors with similar disabilities is a strength of DO-IT's program. One protégé reported she had never met an adult with a hearing impairment like hers before getting involved in DO-IT: "But when I met him, I was so surprised how he had such a normal life, and he had a family, and he worked with people who had normal hearing. So he made me feel a lot better about my future."

DO-IT's E-Mentoring Participants

DO-IT Scholars

High school students with disabilities who are accepted into the DO-IT Scholars program communicate electronically with Mentors and other DO-IT participants using computers and, if necessary, assistive technology. DO-IT Scholars who do not have the necessary technology are loaned equipment and software. DO-IT Scholars attend summer programs at the University of Washington in Seattle where they participate in academic lectures and labs, live in residence halls, and practice skills that will help them succeed in college and career settings.

DO-IT Ambassadors

When DO-IT Scholars graduate from high school and move on to postsecondary studies, they can become DO-IT Ambassadors, sharing their experiences and advice with DO-IT Scholars and DO-IT Pals and otherwise promoting DO-IT goals.

DO-IT Pals

Teens with disabilities who want to go to college and who have access to the Internet can apply to become DO-IT Pals. DO-IT Pals come from all over the world and use the Internet to explore academic and career interests and communicate with DO-IT Scholars, Ambassadors, and Mentors. To become a DO-IT Pal, a teenager with a disability who already has access to the Internet must send email to doit@u.washington.edu.

DO-IT Mentors

Adult Mentors are an important part of the DO-IT team. DO-IT Mentors are college students, faculty, and professionals in a wide variety of career fields. Many DO-IT Mentors have disabilities themselves. Mentors support DO-IT Scholars, Ambassadors, and Pals as they transition to college, careers, and self-determined lives.

DO-IT Staff

The e-mentoring community administrator monitors discussions, introduces new members to the group, and sends messages with mentoring tips to the mentors and lessons and activities to all members of the community. Other staff join in discussions, particularly during times of low participation by others, and send useful information and resources.

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DO-IT e-community participants learn strategies for success in academics and employment. Mentors provide direction and motivation, instill values, promote professionalism, and help protégés develop leadership skills. As one DO-IT Scholar noted, "It feels so nice to know that there are adults with disabilities or who know a lot about disabilities, because I think that people who are about to go to college or start their adult life can learn a lot from mentors . . ." As DO-IT Scholars move from high school to college and careers, they too, as DO-IT Ambassadors, become mentors and role models, sharing their experiences with younger participants.

There are probably as many mentoring styles as there are personality types, and no one can be everything to one person. Each DO-IT participant benefits from contact with many mentors, peers, and near-peers. One-to-one relationships develop naturally as common interests are identified by pairs of mentors, protégés, peers, and near-peers. DO-IT also facilitates communication in small groups through the use of electronic discussion lists. For example, one group includes Mentors, protégés, and near-peers who are blind. Participants in this group discuss common interests and concerns such as independent living, speech and Braille output systems, and options for displaying images and mathematical expressions.

While most communication occurs electronically, some Mentors and near-peers meet DO-IT Scholars during DO-IT Summer Study programs on the University of Washington Seattle campus and at other DO-IT activities across the United States. In-person contact strengthens relationships formed online.

DO-IT has been studying the nature and value of electronic mentoring since 1993. Thousands of electronic mail messages were collected, coded, and analyzed; surveys were distributed to DO-IT Scholars and Mentors, and focus groups were conducted (Burgstahler & Cronheim, 2001).

Findings suggest that computer-mediated communication can be used to initiate and sustain peer-peer and mentor-protégé relationships and alleviate barriers to traditional communications due to time and schedule limitations, physical distances, and disabilities of participants. Both young people and mentors actively communicate on the Inter-net and report positive experiences in using the Internet as a communication tool.

The Internet gives these young people support from peers and adults otherwise difficult to reach, connects them to a rich collection of resources, and provides opportunities to learn and contribute. Participants note benefits over other types of communication. They include the ability to communicate over great distances quickly, easily, conveniently, and inexpensively; the elimination of the barriers of distance and schedule; the ability to communicate with more than one person at one time; and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Many report the added value that people treat them equally because they are not immediately aware of their disabilities. Negative aspects of electronic communication include difficulties in clearly expressing ideas and feelings, high volumes of messages, and occasional technical difficulties.

 

DO-IT's online program has received national recognition with its 1997 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring "for embodying excellence in mentoring underrepresented students and encouraging their significant achievement in science, mathematics, and engineering." It also received the National Information Infrastructure Award in 1995 "for those whose achievements demonstrate what is possible when the powerful forces of human creativity and technologies are combined." Research results suggest the success of the DO-IT electronic community in promoting positive college and career outcomes (e.g., Burgstahler, 1997, 2001, 2002b, 2003a; Burgstahler & Cronheim, 2001; Kim-Rupnow & Burgstahler, 2004). But more importantly, the DO-IT electronic mentoring community has documented its value in the successful lives of its participants and the willingness of those who were once protégés to support young people in the community as they were supported in their youth.

The findings of research on DO-IT's e-mentoring community suggest that peer-peer and mentor-protégé relationships on the Internet perform similar functions in providing participants with psychosocial, academic, and career support. However, each type of relationship has its unique strengths. For example, peer-peer communication includes more personal information than exchanges between mentors and protégés.

Building on the successes of DO-IT and other online mentoring programs, practitioners should consider using the Internet as a vehicle for developing and supporting positive peer and mentor relationships.

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Contributions of DO-IT Participants

Everyone in the DO-IT electronic mentoring community benefits from participation. DO-IT Mentors and near-peers in their mentoring role offer protégés

• Information—Mentors share their knowledge and experiences.
• Contacts—Mentors introduce their protégés to valuable academic, career, and personal contacts.
• Challenges—Mentors stimulate curiosity and build confidence by offering new ideas, strategies, and opportunities.
• Support—Mentors encourage growth and achievement by providing an open and supportive environment.
• Direction—Mentors help protégés discover their talents and interests and devise strategies to attain their goals.
• Advice—Mentors make suggestions to help protégés reach academic, career, and personal goals.
• Role Modeling—Mentors let protégés know who they are and how they have reached their goals.

DO-IT protégés offer Mentors

• Challenge—Mentors develop their own personal styles for sharing their skills and knowledge via electronic communication.
• Opportunities to Help Set Goals—Mentors encourage DO-IT participants to listen to their hearts and think about what they really want to do.
• A Chance to Share Strategies—Mentors pass on hard-earned experiences.
• New Ideas—Mentors join an active community of talented students and professionals with a wide range of disabilities who are eager to share their own strategies for problem solving and success.
• Fun—Mentors share in the lives of motivated young people, listening to them, hearing about their dreams, helping them along the road to success—it's fun!

As is apparent by the size of this book, it takes a great deal of time and effort to develop and support your own electronic mentoring community. Steps involved are outlined in the following chapter. If you do not have the resources to make this commitment, consider finding an existing community to join. For example, DO-IT hosts an electronic community for teens with disabilities, near-peers, and mentors. DO-IT Scholars, Ambassadors, and Mentors are members. In addition, any teen with a disability who plans to go to college can apply to join the community as a DO-IT Pal. DO-IT Pals receive peer, near-peer, and mentor support, as well as access to a rich collection of resources. Teens with disabilities can simply send an email message to doit@u.washington.edu to join DO-IT Pals. More information about this program can be found in the video DO-IT Pals: An Internet Community, and the accompanying brochure, DO-IT Pals. They can be found on the DO-IT Pals page or purchased from DO-IT.

Other online mentoring options for students with disabilities can be found in the DO-IT Knowledge Base article Are there electronic mentoring programs for students with disabilities? 

Just DO-IT!

Whether you mentor a young person, connect one child with a caring adult, create a small mentoring group in your church or school, develop an elaborate electronic mentoring community, or encourage young people to join an existing online mentoring program, find ways to make mentoring a part of the lives of the young people with whom you interact.

The next chapter tells you how to create an electronic mentoring community. The chapters that follow provide mentoring tips and activities that can be adapted for any mentoring environment.

The ultimate goal for DO-IT participants is a successful transition to adult life. In DO-IT's supported community, participants prepare for college and employment, develop social competence, learn to use the Internet as a resource, reflect on their own experiences, practice self-determination and leadership skills, and learn from others.

Email coupled with electronic distribution lists, message boards, web-based forums, and chat rooms are all possibilities for supporting peer and mentor interactions. Chat and other synchronous methods require that participants be on the same schedule; this condition is too restricting for most programs. In addition, these systems are not accessible to all students, in particular to those who are very slow typists. Web-based forums are a possibility, but they require that students and mentors regularly enter the message system to participate, thus all participants must have both the motivation and the discipline to regularly access the system, and this is not true of all teens.

DO-IT has been successful with using electronic mail and distribution lists to maintain its electronic mentoring community. This text-based asynchronous approach is fully accessible to everyone and results in messages appearing in participant email inboxes. As long as they regularly access their email, it is difficult for students and mentors to ignore the conversations that occur. Guidance to participants regarding how to manage email correspondence (e.g., using folders, deleting old messages) is provided as part of participant training.

If you are interested in setting up a distribution list ask your Internet service provider if it has the capability to do this. Also explore web-based options such as those provided by topica and yahoo. All of these options forward to all members of a list any email messages sent to the list address. Assign the participants to distribution list(s) that are closed; in other words, individuals cannot become part of the community without going through the application process managed by the administrator.

Select only universally-designed technology to use for communication in your community. This means that it is fully accessible to all potential participants, including those who have disabilities. Make sure that a person who is deaf or who has a speech impairment can participate in all communications. Technology you choose should also be fully accessible to individuals who are blind and using text-to-speech adaptive technology as part of their computer system. Consult DO-IT's website on Accessible Technology for more information about accessible technology.

When DO-IT had only a small number of participants, there were two e-mentoring community discussion lists, doitkids@u.washington.edu for the DO-IT Scholars and mentors@u.washington.edu for the Mentors. Mentors could communicate with each other on the mentors list, and teens could communicate with each other on the doitkids list. Messages were sent to both addresses simultaneously for conversations that included all Mentors and Scholars, like those labeled E-Community Activity in the remaining chapters of this book. When the DO-IT Pals program emerged, we created a list for these participants, doitpals@u.washington.edu. To better facilitate large-group discussions we eventually set up a distribution list, doitchat@u.washington.edu, that includes all of the members of doitkids@u.washington.edu, mentors@u.washington.edu, and doitpals@u.washington.edu. Discussions that include the full e-community take place on the doitchat list.

As the DO-IT community grew in size, individuals expressed an interest in continuing with large group conversations but also communicating in smaller groups with people whose accommodation strategies are similar to their own. To address this need, we set up several more discussion lists. For example, doithi@u.washington.edu was set up for mentors, near-peers, and protégés who have hearing impairments. Members of this list discuss topics that might not interest the larger community, such as sign language interpreters, FM systems, and cochlear implants. The figure above illustrates how individuals in the doithi group are drawn from members of the other groups.

Similarly, special distribution lists were set up for individuals with visual impairments, learning issues, and other classifications. A lead mentor and at least one DO-IT staff member is included on each distribution list to facilitate communication and to assure that all messages are appropriate.

Example of the DO-IT Discussion List Structure for Participants with Hearing Impairments.

Each doithi member is also a member of doitchat and one of the groups doitkids, doitpals, and mentors.

The DO-IT electronic community promotes communication in group discussions that involve many mentors, near-peers, and protégés. However, to maximize participation in large communities, it is important to assign each protégé to a specific mentor who will assure the participant's regular involvement and satisfaction, but not limit his/her communication with others. For greater assurance of follow-through, it is desirable for these mentors to be paid staff. In DO-IT, for example, all DO-IT Scholars and Ambassadors are assigned to key staff members who communicate with them personally on a regular basis.

To assure supervision of lead mentors and coordination with other staff, an e-community manager was assigned. This role also includes obtaining the informed consent of parents as well as the collection and dissemination, to appropriate groups, of web resources and other information of specific interest. Other staff assignments include technical support (e.g., subscribing individuals to the distribution list and correcting email address errors) and mentoring leads for subgroups of the mentoring community.

Relationships developed with mentors become channels for the passage of information, advice, opportunities, challenges, and support, with the ultimate goals of facilitating achievement and having fun. Keep in mind that, although the majority of Internet resources and communications are not harmful to children, participants may stumble into situations or be encouraged to participate in communications that are inappropriate. They may encounter objectionable material by innocently searching for information with a search engine or mistyping a web address. On the Internet, they might:

• see materials that include content that is sexual, violent, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate for children
• be exposed to communications that are harassing or demeaning and, perhaps, even be drawn into these types of conversations themselves
• be encouraged to participate in activities that promote prejudice, are unsafe, or are illegal
• meet a predator who uses the Internet to develop trusting relationships with kids and then arranges to meet them in person
• make unauthorized purchases using a credit card

Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to being exposed to material and engaging in activities that are inappropriate. This is because they are more likely than younger children to use computers unsupervised; have the skills to conduct searches on the Internet; participate in online discussions via email, chat, instant messaging, or bulletin board systems where inappropriate communications can occur; and have access to credit card information.

If your electronic community includes young people under the age of eighteen, obtain the informed consent of parents or guardians, making the risks and benefits of using the Internet clear. Sample content for a permission form for parents or guardians to sign is included in Chapter Thirteen of this book. Seek advice from legal experts in your organization or community as you explore ways to keep participants safe.

Establish rules for participation in your community, and distribute them to the participants and mentors. Appropriate rules depend upon the ages of participants and the nature of the community. Consider adopting a set of expectations similar to Kids' Rules for Online Safety, published at SafeKids.com. Tailor them for your participants and encourage families to post them near Internet-connected computers in their homes. The guidelines should include your expectations for participation in the community (for example, check messages each week), child safety issues, and a statement that tells young participants to inform their parents and the e-community administrator if they receive email that is inappropriate or makes them uncomfortable. Sample guidelines can be found in Chapter Thirteen of this book.

Determine what roles you desire mentors to perform in the program. Then develop guidelines for mentors, as well as program goals and operations that are consistent with these roles. The guidelines should be simple and straightforward and shared with potential applicants so that they understand mentor responsibilities.

Decide in what form(s) orientation and training should occur. The optimal amount of training depends on the complexity of your program and the expected roles of mentors. It is best if the training is interactive and engaging. Topics covered in the orientation should include

• an overview of how communication is to occur. In the case of DO-IT, an email message is sent to a specific discussion list or to an individual.
• an outline of the responsibilities, expectations, and boundaries your program has developed for both mentors and protégés.
• general mentoring tips, as well as tips designed to teach mentors how to promote success, self-determination, and problem solving skills.
• information to improve skills such as effective communication strategies and email netiquette.
• resources for mentors, such as additional mentor training, disability information, education, and career development.

See Chapter Three for more information on mentor orientation and training.

 

Consider what recruiting methods and screening devices will be used to choose mentors. Written applications, personal interviews, reference checks, and criminal record checks should be considered. Make sure that the application packet addresses the orientation, motivation, and skills needed to perform mentoring roles and includes established mentoring guidelines. Assign one staff member to review the application packet and to call references. Consider having a panel make final decisions on selections.

In DO-IT, mentoring opportunities are communicated by word of mouth through organizations with which DO-IT has connections. This approach helps assure the quality of mentors and the safety of participants. We provide prospective mentors with an application form that includes questions similar to those in the Sample Mentor Application in Chapter Thirteen of this book. For further suggestions on recruiting mentors, consult Recruiting Mentors: A Guide to Finding Volunteers to Work with Youth at www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/28_publication.pdf.

Decide how best to recruit participants to your program. In DO-IT, information about the DO-IT Scholars and DO-IT Pals programs is regularly distributed to schools, parent groups, and organizations that come in contact with teens who have disabilities. Teenagers submit application materials to join the competitive DO-IT Scholars program. An advisory board selects Scholars by reviewing their applications, teacher recommendations, parent recommendations, and school records. In the DO-IT Pals program, potential participants submit a short online application to doit@u.washington.edu; if they meet the basic criteria, they are included in the electronic community as DO-IT Pals. When individuals are accepted into the DO-IT Scholars and DO-IT Pals programs, their email addresses are added to appropriate distribution lists according to their program memberships and disabilities.

 

Help parents understand both the benefits and risks of Internet access for their children. Encourage parents of participants to put their Internet-connected computers in high-traffic areas of their homes. If an Internet-connected computer is in the family room or other busy area, children will be less likely to engage in inappropriate activities. They should avoid having a computer with an Internet connection in a child's bedroom; this might be a better place for a computer with educational software, applications software, and games that do not require the Internet.

Encourage parents and guardians to talk to their children about both the benefits and the dangers of the Internet. They should describe scenarios in which a child could be exposed to inappropriate resources or communications. These conversations should be periodic and along the same lines as those about where it is safe for children to ride their bicycles and what to do if a friend wants to play with his dad's gun. They need to be clear about what activities their children are allowed to engage in, what types of Internet resources are and are not appropriate for them, and what they are to do if they encounter materials that they feel uncomfortable with or that they know are unacceptable to their parents. Children should also know what they should do if a friend exposes them to Internet use they know is wrong.

Parents and guardians should tell their children not to give out identifying information (for example, their last name, home address, phone number, or school name) in a chat room, on an email discussion list, or in a message to an individual that they and their children do not both know and trust. Children should never respond to messages that are harassing, threatening, of a sexual nature, or obscene or that make them feel uncomfortable in any way. Protégés should know that mentors may be valuable resources to them but that they need to take responsibility for participating only in conversations and activities that are appropriate and report concerns to parents and the e-mentoring community administrator.

Parents and guardians should be sure their children know to never arrange a face-to-face meeting with people they meet on the Internet, even if they are mentors or other program participants, without parental permission. If a parent approves of a meeting between his or her child and a person met on the Internet, they should accompany the child and arrange to meet in a public place.

Consider supporting an e-community for parents of participants. In DO-IT, we created a discussion list, doitparent@u.washington.edu to facilitate ongoing communication between DO-IT Scholar parents and DO-IT staff.

The electronic community administrator can send messages to introduce new mentors or protégés to the group and invite new members to send messages about themselves to the group. For example, the administrator of the DO-IT online community might send the following message when a new DO-IT Mentor, Jane Smith, joins the program.

To: doitchat@u.washington.edu
Subject: Please welcome a new mentor

Hello everyone,

I would like all of you to please help me welcome Jane Smith to the DO-IT community. Jane is a new mentor who works for a local computer manufacturing plant. Please take a moment to send an email to Jane and introduce yourself. You can reach her directly at janesmith@mentor.com.

Welcome to the DO-IT community, Jane!

[name]
E-Mentoring Administrator

DO-IT also publishes DO-IT Snapshots and distributes it to all e-community members. This publication includes current bios and email addresses of participants. A version without email addresses can be found online on the DO-IT Snapshots page.

Addressing the needs of mentors is key to a successful mentoring community. Most mentors experience some frustration and confusion regarding their roles, especially early on. Access to administrative staff and other mentors can help them get past the rough spots as well as provide ongoing guidance. The mentoring community administrator can model how discussion questions can be submitted to a group. When mentors send good questions to the list, the administrator can send an appreciative email to their individual email addresses.

 

Administrative staff should have regular communication with each mentor to address questions and identify challenges and solutions. These interactions help mentors feel appreciated, maintain a positive attitude, and maximize success in their mentoring roles. The mentoring community administrator should privately encourage individual mentors, near-peers, and protégés to participate when they have not done so in a while.

A discussion list or other electronic forum just for mentors can be used by mentors to support one another. In addition, the electronic community administrator can support the mentors by sending specific resources and guidance to this discussion list periodically, as is done with the messages labeled Mentor Tip in future chapters of this book. For additional ideas regarding the support of mentors, consult the publication Supporting Mentors at www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/31_publication.pdf.

In a perfect world you could create an electronic distribution list or a web-based forum for protégés and mentors with guidelines for their interactions, and they would automatically communicate with one another appropriately and regularly. This is the essence of how a topical listserv/listproc discussion list typically works. However, in a mentoring community you have more specific goals for the participants than simply to discuss a common interest. Someone needs to be assigned the tasks of monitoring and managing the discussions of the mentoring community and sending discussion questions when needed to promote interactions. There are no formal rules to employ, but the person with that assignment can benefit from using the content in future chapters of this book as a guide.

After providing general guidelines and training to new mentors, introducing them, and encouraging them to send messages introducing themselves, the mentoring community administrator can send one short, engaging message on one topic at a time and allow time for discussion before sending out a message on another topic. The administrator can then monitor conversations and assure a natural flow of communication. Some messages are best sent by a specific mentor or protégé. In this case, the administrator can ask a specific participant to send the message to the group. This approach assures that discussions are dominated by mentors and protégés, not program staff.

Protégés should be encouraged to send messages with a focused subject line and a question related to their current experiences. For example, the administrator could encourage a participant to submit the following question to the group: "I'm applying for a summer job and need to send a résumé and cover letter. I expect I will need disability-related accommodations to succeed in the position available. Should I inform the potential employer of my disability now, wait until I get invited for an interview, or wait until I am offered the job?"

Developing good questions to discuss is essential. This book gives you some great examples, but you will want to develop your own and have your participants do the same. Program staff should view their role as community facilitators, not the central focus. To support a discussion, administrators can do the following:

• Use questions that are short, focused, open-ended, and of interest to most participants and that solicit a variety of opinions rather than one right answer.
• Rephrase or provide an example related to a question if participants seem confused.
• Use subject lines that specify the focus of the discussion, for example, "Disclosing a disability in employment?"Avoid vague subject titles like "Question from a mentor."
• Submit comments to keep a conversation going, but back off when participants are keeping the discussion lively by themselves.
• In private email messages, encourage mentors and protégés to submit questions to the group.
• Promote communications from participants. For example, after someone's contribution you might send a message such as one of the following: "What a great story, John. What did you learn from this experience?" "Sherry, could you share with the group more about how you applied for this scholarship?" "Tell us about what accommodations you're using on your new job." "How did the reaction of that teacher make you feel?" "If you had this to do again, would you take the same action?"
• Whenever possible, let the participants resolve their own disputes, and reprimand privately those who send inappropriate messages. Rarely is it necessary to send such a message to the whole group.

The e-mentoring community administrator or another staff member should search the Internet for useful resources and provide regular messages that point to these resources. There is no guarantee that individuals will make use of content in these electronic lessons, but participants are likely to make use of at least some of the content if it is tailored to the interests of the audience.

DO-IT staff search for and distribute to appropriate lists useful resources on college and career preparation, scholarships, internships, and other appropriate topics for the community. DO-IT has also developed a standard format for lessons to support its academic and career goals for young people in the program. One lesson is sent to the mentoring community each Friday with a standard subject line of "DO-IT Lesson: [lesson title]." For samples of these messages, consult DO-IT Internet Lessons. Permission is granted to distribute the lessons provided at this site to your participants provided the source is acknowledged. These lessons complement the interactive activities included in future chapters of this book.

Coordinating mentor-, near-peer-, and protégé-initiated discussions and sending out periodic lessons with useful resources are important activities for supporting an electronic community. Many other mentoring strategies can be modified for online delivery to support young people on their journeys toward successful, self-determined lives. The types of online activities for teens included in this book apply recognized strategies for self-development. Among these are role modeling, affirmations, self-assessment, self-reflection, and visualization.

In DO-IT, we anonymously share content in discussions within the mentoring community in a column called The Thread, which regularly appears in the publication DO-IT News. We also publish Scholar, Ambassador, and Mentor profiles. You can review past issues of DO-IT News online. Articles about DO-IT participants that have appeared in the press can be found on the DO-IT Press page.

Formally and/or informally survey the mentors and young people in the community to assess their level of satisfaction with its workings and collect their suggestions for improvement. Assess the impact of participation in the e-mentoring community on reaching their academic, career, and independent living goals. Make appropriate adjustments.

Communication between participants in the electronic mentoring community should be enjoyable for everyone. Sharing humor and personal stories should be encouraged.

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring orientation

Welcome to the [program name] program. I am the administrator of our electronic mentoring community. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at [email address].

To help you transition into your new mentoring position, read the publication titled Opening Doors: Mentoring on the Internet. If your computer has the capability, also view the video at the same location.

[name of e-mentoring administrator]

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring discussion [lists/forums]

As a mentor you are encouraged to communicate with both mentors and teenage participants (protégés) in our mentoring community. I will post some messages to stimulate discussion, but both mentors and protégés are encouraged to share resources and pose questions of interest to the group.

The electronic community is composed of several [discussion lists/forums], each with a specific audience.

• To communicate with fellow mentors only, send a message to [list/forum address].
• To communicate with the entire community of mentors and protégés, send a message to [list/forum address].

I hope you enjoy your experience as a mentor. If you have any questions about being a mentor, how the discussion [lists/forums] work, or other issues or concerns, please contact me at [email address].

[e-mentoring administrator name]

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring guidelines

Here are a few guidelines to follow as you begin mentoring the teens in our program.

• Periodically introduce yourself to the group. Share your personal interests, hobbies, academic interests, and career path.
• Read messages and communicate with other mentors and/or protégés at least once per week (time commitment: up to about one hour).
• Engage protégés in conversations. Set the tone and model appropriate interactions.
• Get to know the protégés. What are their personal interests? academic interests? career interests?
• Explore interests with protégés by asking questions, promoting discussion, and pointing to Internet and other resources.
• Facilitate contact between protégés and resources (professors, professionals, service providers, etc.).
• Remember that developing meaningful relationships takes time. Give yourself and the protégés time to get to know one another.
• Encourage protégés to set and reach high goals in education and employment.
• Maintain appropriate, clear boundaries with protégés.
• Never arrange to meet a protégé in person without the approval of program staff and parents. If such a meeting is desired, please share your interest with me at [email address].
• Tell me of any inappropriate email you receive from protégés or mentors and/or inappropriate activities protégés or mentors are involved in.

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on communication of emotions

There are many advantages to mentoring via the Internet. Electronic messages can eliminate the barriers imposed by time, distance, and disability that can occur in face-to-face mentoring. However, electronic messages do not include the nonverbal cues people rely upon to communicate effectively. Nonverbal cues include facial expressions, eye contact, intonation, posture, and gestures. Without these cues we can fail to properly interpret the feelings and subtle meanings behind words that are spoken. The intended message in electronic correspondence can be misinterpreted by the person reading the message.

In order to make sure the meaning behind the words in your messages is clear, consider these tips:

• Start a message with a friendly greeting ("Hello," "Hi," "Dear [name]," etc.).
• Place "(grin)" at the end of a sentence to tell recipients that your comment is meant to be humorous. Similarly, insert appropriate "emoticons" to take the place of facial expressions or gestures. You can find many collections of emoticons by searching for "emoticons" on the Web, however, it's best to use text-based content rather than graphic images so that participants who are blind can access the content with their text-to-speech systems.
• Rarely use all capital letters in a message. Capitalizing all letters in one word infers strong emphasis, but capitalizing all letters in an entire message is like yelling at someone in person.

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on positive reinforcement

Find ways to have fun with protégés and your fellow mentors. Talk about interesting topics. Share humorous experiences. Such communications help young people relate to you and feel that you value their company. Enjoyable online activities include talking about your experiences in college and employment, interesting online resources, current events and community service opportunities, and your personal goals.

Be positive and offer expressions of confidence and encouragement even when talking about difficult situations. Find ways to show approval of our young participants and their ideas and to celebrate their successes. There are many ways to do this. Here are examples of positive comments that show approval and interest.

• Great idea.
• Right on! Fantastic! Terrific!
• Great job.
• Exactly right!
• Nice going.
• Good work.
• Outstanding!
• Great! Way to go!
• Perfect.
• Excellent!
• I bet you're happy about that.
• I can tell how pleased you are about this.
• I knew you could do it.
• Wow! All your hard work paid off.
• I bet you'll celebrate this accomplishment.
• I know exactly what you mean.
• I feel the same way at times.
• Keep trying—you'll get it.
• I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on this.
• What do you recommend to other teens who wish to accomplish something like this?
• How can you build on this successful experience?

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on listening skills

Careful "listening" is an important skill for a mentor. When you read a protégé's message, try to interpret both the meaning and the potential emotion attached to the content. Sometimes it is appropriate to let the protégé know that you are aware of strong emotions that he seems to be expressing.

Empathy lets the protégé know you not only understand the words used but also are sensitive to the feeling expressed. Statements like "You sound really discouraged" can let the protégé know that you care about more than the factual content of his message, that you care about how he feels.

When participants in our electronic community convey to one another that they hear both the content of what was said and the feelings that were expressed, close relationships with high levels of trust develop.

When communicating with protégés, it is important to

• read through a protégé's entire message carefully and ask questions about anything you don't understand, before composing your reply.
• be clear and specific in your questions, requests, and answers.
• ask open-ended questions rather than questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no."
• understand that a protégé's view of the world may be different from your own and remember that everyone is entitled to his/her opinions and beliefs.
• provide guidance that is supportive and positive.
• avoid lecturing or passing judgment.
• guide protégés through a problem-solving process rather than state a solution to a problem for them.

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on turning questions back

Sometimes an effective way to encourage communication and reflection is a question to the protégé. For example, you might ask:

• What do you think?
• Can you tell me how to do that?
• What choices do you have?
• How did you do that?
• Who helped you make that decision?
• Do you have any role models (teachers, family members, friends, historical figures, etc.) who have handled this type of situation in a positive way?
• Are you happy with how things turned out?
• What would you do differently if you were presented with the situation again?

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on disabilities

Do not ask participants about their disabilities unless they choose to disclose their specific disabilities to you. If they choose to share this information with you, encourage them to describe their disabilities in functional terms and share strategies and accommodations that help them succeed. Such practice is important since the ability for them to describe their disabilities and request accommodations is critical for their success in college and careers.

If you would like to know more about different types of disabilities and typical accommodations students with disabilities receive in educational settings, link to The Faculty Room. This extensive resource is specifically designed for postsecondary faculty and, therefore, is most relevant to the college environment. For examples of accommodations for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, link to AccessSTEM.

For further exploration of disabilities, consult the publication Disability-Related Resources on the Internet.

A glossary of disability-related terms can be found at online on the DO-IT website. 

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on guiding teens

Reflecting on the following questions can guide you in helping young people with disabilities create definitions of success for themselves and begin to develop strategies for achieving success.

• How is your definition of success similar to or different from the definitions of young people you are mentoring? How do these differences impact your relationships?
• How do you model your own definition of success yet support a young person in defining success for himself/herself?
• What's the best advice or guidance you have ever given regarding success? What made it the best?
• Think of a time when you wished you had given different advice or guidance. What could you have said or done differently?
• How can you help teens take incremental steps toward leading a successful, self-determined life?

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Mentoring tips on conversation starters

A challenge faced by any electronic mentoring community is getting conversations started. As a mentor you have the responsibility to engage protégés in conversations that promote growth and build trust. Here are a few discussion ideas to get you started.

• Introduce yourself and ask protégés about themselves.
• Talk about your hobbies, favorite movies, books, music, family, community where you live, etc.
• Ask protégés about their hobbies, favorite books, music, family, school, academic and career plans, etc.
• Talk about your education (favorite classes, teachers, school).
• Talk about your first job.
• Talk about how you secured your current job. What specialized training have you had?
• Talk about how to locate an internship or job opportunity.
• Offer to help protégés develop or improve their résumés.
• Talk about interviewing techniques, such as dressing for success, answering specific questions, and disclosing disabilities.
• Talk about disability-related accommodations in school or on the job.
• Offer to help protégés locate summer employment or make career contacts.
• Talk about balancing school, work, and social life.
• Share websites you think protégés might find useful or interesting.

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Tips on"dos" when mentoring teens

Since becoming self-determined is a lifelong process, you can be a co-learner as you help young people develop self-determination skills. Successful individuals with disabilities offered the following advice as part of an electronic mentoring community discussion.

• Allow them to reach for their dreams, regardless of how impossible it may seem. Encourage them when the going gets rough, let them work at it themselves to achieve their dreams, and be there to say, "Job well done!" when they make it! I thank God daily for those teachers, my family, and friends who didn't give up on me or my goals. They made my success possible!! (college student who is deaf)
• Help a disabled student accept the fact that they are disabled. Some disabled students do not want to admit their disability. Some blind students, for example, don't want to use a cane because they fear that people might look at them differently. Every child wants to be like everyone else. I remember when I was declared legally blind I didn't have the self-esteem to admit that I was blind. I didn't want to use the adaptive materials that my vision teacher provided. My grades started to slip, and I didn't feel good at all. The day that I got over the self-esteem issue was the day that I could see that adaptive materials could actually help me out in the classroom. (college student who is blind)
• Allow young people to keep their door of opportunity open, and remind them that the door will always be open as long as they allow it to be open. (college student who had a stroke)
• Caring adults can impact and shape the self-esteem of a kid, especially one who is disabled. When a kid is supported by someone outside of the their family, they feel special and valued. This"mentor" can let the child know that they believe in them. A belief is one step on the road to success. (high school student with dyslexia and attention deficit disorder)
• Give children with disabilities responsibilities at a young age, similar to those given to other children. (college student who is blind)
• Everyone should always try to reach their full potential, and they should expect nothing more and nothing less. (college student with low vision)
• If a student is having a difficult time in one academic area, gently point out to them what their strengths are, what they are better at. (college student who had a stroke)
• Instill self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-advocacy at a very young age. Allow children to learn how to be independent so that they don't have to learn how to do it when they become adults. I think when parents do everything for their children it hinders their ability to develop and be able to make their own judgments. Instill information into children that will allow them to make good judgments. (graduate student with a hearing impairment)
• Parents, teachers, and society need to come to understand that disabilities are merely factors of life, not life itself. Parents of disabled children should reinforce, from the time their children are young, that disabilities are circumventable. They must help their children accept their disabilities and then encourage them to lead their lives to the utmost normalcy. As for teachers, they must come to understand that disabled children are, in most instances, capable of achieving the same levels of academic success as any other child. Teachers must come to see disabilities as superficial qualities but simultaneously realize that disabled children may need some special accommodations. Last, society must be educated as to the capabilities of disabled individuals. While there have been vast shifts in societal thought concerning the abilities of the disabled, too many individuals still hold outdated and ignorant views about people with disabilities. It is not enough that laws exist to protect the interests of the disabled. Society must learn to take those laws to heart to ensure that all children, disabled or not, are able to form and maintain high expectations for themselves. The change will be gradual but well worth it! (adult who is blind)
• Teach your child about right and wrong. Encourage him to stand up for what is right. (college student with a mobility impairment)
• What really helps kids with disabilities is being treated just like everyone else. If they get special treatment, then they will expect to be treated like that all their lives. (high school student with speech, hearing, and mobility impairments)

Keep these words of wisdom in mind as you mentor protégés.

Send this message to the mentors only.

Subject: Tips on "don'ts" when mentoring teens

Successful individuals with disabilities offered the following advice as part of an electronic mentoring community discussion.

• Don't disregard their beliefs or feelings. Be supportive of kids' beliefs. (college student with mobility and health impairments)
• Don't let children sit and feel sorry for themselves. Find activities of interest that they are able to take part in. Find community partners to take them places if they are unable to go on their own. (college student with cerebral palsy)
• Don't polarize disabilities and abilities. They are not two ends of a spectrum. For example, my deafness gives me access to sign language and typing skills that I might never have learned if I had not gone deaf. So in many ways the disability (if you call it that) is an ability. At the same time, my physical disability gave me an opportunity to do dance. Something I NEVER did as a nondisabled person. It's as important to identify parts of life as a disabled person that give us skills as identifying other abilities/disabilities. (adult who is deaf and has a mobility impairment)

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Welcome to online mentoring

Welcome to the [program name] program. On the [list/forum address] participants in the [program name] and adult mentors will communicate on a wide range of topics—college, careers, recreation—in order to promote the success of participants(called "protégés"), share resources, and just have fun.

Our mentoring community is about taking charge of your life. Our goal is for you to have an internal sense of control, that is, for you to be active in determining aspects of your life. Rather than feeling dependent, you will learn strategies that will help you take charge. An important part of being self-determined is seeking and valuing help from others, including the peers and mentors in our online community.

I am the administrator of our electronic mentoring community. If you have any questions or concerns, contact me at [email address].

[name of e-mentoring administrator]

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Guidelines for protégés

Here are a few guidelines to follow as you participate in our online mentoring community.

• Log on to your email account [or into the electronic forum] at least once each week, and read and respond to messages.
• Regularly communicate with mentors and other participants.
• Notify me of any changes to your email address or other personal information.
• Keep paragraphs in your messages short, and separate paragraphs with blank spaces.
• Avoid covering several topics in one message. It's better to send several messages so that recipients can respond to each topic separately.
• Use mixed upper and lower case letters, and capitalize letters in a word for emphasis. Using all capital letters is like SHOUTING.
• It's friendly to begin a message with the name of the person to whom you are corresponding and to end the message with your name.
• Do not use words others might find offensive. Avoid personal attacks. Don't engage in name-calling.
• Do not participate in conversations that would be unacceptable to your parents and/or program staff.
• Do not engage in conversations that you are not comfortable with. Immediately report offensive or troubling messages that you receive to me and a parent or guardian.
• Remember that electronic correspondence is easy for recipients to forward to others and, therefore, is not appropriate for very personal messages. Email is more like a postcard than a sealed letter.
• Spell check and carefully review a message BEFORE you send it.

[name of e-mentoring administrator]

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Safety on the Internet

The Internet is a great place for learning and interaction. However, some content is not appropriate for you, and some Internet users are not safe for you to interact with. The following are a few rules for you and your parents or guardians to consider while you engage in email and other activities on the Internet.

• I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents' work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without the permission of a parent or guardian.
• I will tell you and a parent or guardian right away if I come across information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
• I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with a parent or guardian. If a parent or guardian agrees to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and arrange for a parent or guardian to come along.
• I will never send a person my picture or anything else without the approval of a parent or guardian.
• I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do, I will tell you and a parent or guardian but NOT the person who sent the message.
• I will talk with a parent or guardian so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide on the time of day I can be online, the length of time I can be online, and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.

[name of e-mentoring administrator]

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Jessie and learning strategies

If your computer has the capability, view the video Taking Charge 1: Three Stories of Success and Self-Determination. You can also read the following story about Jessie, who is featured in the video. Then tell our group something about Jessie's story that is similar to your life experiences. You can also read the following story about Jessie, who is featured in the video. Then tell our group something about Jessie's story that is similar to your life experiences.

Jessie first became aware of her learning disability in the second grade. She said: "Everyone in my class was reading and I wasn't. When my mom approached the teacher, the teacher minimized the problem, saying I was just a 'late bloomer.' Even in third grade I still couldn't read. They kept telling my mom, 'Don't worry, don't worry.'"

Jessie struggled in every grade as she progressed through school. "When I was in the fourth grade, I was in a first grade reading level. And my writing skills were just nonexistent... Science reading is really dense and so I get completely and totally lost in it. Even in math classes I do dyslexic-like errors like dropping negative signs. It gets me all mixed up. There's no area in which I am free of it. It's a part of me."

But Jessie was determined to be "academically independent." With support from her mother and a tutor, Jessie figured out how to tap into her own resourcefulness to reach self-defined goals. "Ever since I was in third grade, whatever they were doing, I didn't get it. I got really frustrated. I was always behind. So my mom would help me by finding different ways to do the work. Now that I'm in high school, I'm finding my own way, developing my own methods. I learned how to study. Like, for example I would create whole tests of the subject material and just quiz myself, and quiz myself and quiz myself. And, you know, it works. I've gotten A's from doing that."

Jessie also listens to taped versions of her textbooks. She has a speech output system on her computer to read to her all text that appears on the screen. Another computer program allows her to talk into the computer rather than type on the keyboard. She dictates her work to the computer and then uses a standard word processor to edit it into final form. Having note takers in class to alleviate her difficulties with both handwriting and processing teacher lecture material is another strategy that helps Jessie focus on her strengths instead of her deficits. Every day she better understands her learning style and as a result is able to figure out alternative strategies to tackle her assignments. Jessie also seeks out activities that don't require accommodations for her learning disability. These include ballet and running.

Jessie confesses that she fears failure. But she also admits, "I've learned that I'll fail if I don't even try." Jessie's tutor describes a learning disability as a "hill." It's as though Jessie is an avid skier but, instead of using a chairlift like everyone else, she must continually climb the hill in order to ski back down with her peers. Jessie reports, "She and my mom always reminded me of this example and told me, 'You're smart, Jessie, smarter than a lot of these kids. You just have to struggle and work hard sometimes, but you're finding a different way.' They would tell me about people who overcame their disabilities and were successful, so I never felt like I was dumb.... Finding new methods was part of the climb up the mountain. My mom would turn out the lights and quiz me orally on my spelling. It was weird. Sometimes I could do it and sometimes not—it was a mystery."

Jessie describes her relationship with her tutor as special. Unlike her friends, the tutor understands the immense effort it takes Jessie to achieve what seems to come easily to others. According to Jessie, "When I was younger, I didn't mention my disability, because I was ashamed of it. My mom and sister are exactly opposite from me. They never have to study; everything comes easy to them. I have friends like that too. They don't seem to have to work at all, so they can't understand what I have to go through."

On the other hand, Jessie acknowledges that because of her disability she has learned to be resourceful and adaptable. "I see things in a different way. I know how to work hard. I'm determined.... not being able to attack a problem one way has forced me to learn new skills.... If you do work hard, you will get a payoff. It will be worth it.

What about Jessie's experience can apply in your life?

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Jessie and disability benefits

Jessie has found benefits in the struggles she has faced because of her learning disability. Specifically, she says, "I see things in a different way. I know how to work hard. I'm determined. Not being able to attack a problem one way has forced me to learn new skills that I may not have learned [if I didn't have a disability]."

Think of something that you consider to be primarily a disadvantage in your life—for example, where you live, your family dynamics, a disability, your appearance, your physical capabilities. How can you derive benefits from this situation?

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Randy and proving yourself

Read the following story about Randy, and/or view the video presentation Taking Charge 1: Three Stories of Success and Self-Determination. Then tell our group how Randy's experiences are similar to or different from yours.

Randy does not let the jolts of life get him down. He sees the positive in people and the potential in tough situations. Blind since birth, he views obstacles as healthy challenges that provide opportunities to be creative. He sees prejudice and stereotyping as opportunities to educate. Life may be a hassle at times—frustrating, annoying, even frightening—but to Randy it is nothing less than a grand experience.

Born in the Grand Coulee Dam area of Washington State and raised in Alaska and Seattle, Randy went to a public preschool, where, at age three, he began to learn Braille. He attended general education classes throughout his schooling.

In high school he gained access to a laptop computer with speech output software, a speech synthesizer, Braille translation software, a Braille embosser (to produce Braille output), a standard printer for producing printed output for teachers and other sighted people, and the Internet. Using this technology, he read a newspaper independently for the first time in his life. His computer system allowed him to access information and compose papers without the assistance of a sighted person. He attended The Evergreen State College and graduated in a computer field. Randy says his "biggest challenge today is dealing with the ever-growing amount of graphics presented on the World Wide Web and software applications." When software designers use text alternatives to information presented in graphics, he works independently; otherwise, he needs a sighted person to help him.

Though Randy struggled socially in school, his greatest challenges came from teachers, not peers: "You've got to prove that you can do the same stuff as the others, show the teachers that you are able to work in their class successfully. This was my biggest challenge, not from the students. To them, you're just another kid." Randy felt that he had to constantly "prove" his worth—not in relation to performing a specific task but simply because he couldn't see. Randy realized he was going to have to work very hard to find the right kind of job for himself and, even then, likely have to fight to get beyond the stereotypes: "I still have to prove to them that I can do the job."

After graduating with a degree in computer science and networking, Randy secured a job as a help-desk analyst, handling technical computer questions from customers around the United States. Randy credits his parents as the primary motivators in his life: "If I came home with a grade that was lower than expected, I would hear about it. I was expected to get that grade up. And if it didn't go up, well, there were consequences. I was treated like everybody else. That instilled in me a drive to succeed."

They also encouraged him to be independent, to make his own choices and then to learn from the consequences of his choices. "My parents' main goal was to make me as much like any other kid as possible. I did social things with other kids. When I was in high school, I had a lot of the same problems with my parents that a lot of kids have, like 'I want to go out.' 'Well, you can't go out.' Not we don't want you to go out because you have this disability, but because you're supposed to do this work. But at other times, they would say, 'Hey, go out with your friends. Do stuff socially.' They were very open to that. And because I was mainstreamed all through school, I was used to having social interaction with other people."

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Randy and taking on challenges

Read the following story about Randy and/or view the video presentation Taking Charge 1: Three Stories of Success and Self-Determination. Then tell about a challenge that you have taken on.

Randy, who is blind, has an uncanny knack for not allowing the "unknowns" to get in his way. When he encounters a difficult situation, he asks questions. He uses creative thinking to circumvent challenges without allowing the challenges to become overwhelming or discouraging. He sees every challenge as an opportunity to be inventive. Randy tells how whenever he travels to a new location, he studies the layout of the community to figure out the best routes to the places where he needs to go.

Randy found courage in the pockets of his own positive spirit. When he was seventeen years old he ventured alone to California to get his guide dog, Mogul. "I had been away from my parents before, like any normal kid. I've gone to camp and stuff like that. But this was my first flight on my own, and I was going to meet people I had never met before. I would be staying at this place for a month and had no idea where it was or what it was. So it was fairly daunting. I had never done plane travel on my own. So, I had to say to myself, 'Well, eventually things are going to work out.' A lot of the time that's how I work. I say, 'We may not be able to plan this out completely, but it'll work out somehow.' There's always something that will come up. Some sort of gift of fortune that will make things work."

Denise and Randy met in high school and were married at age 21. Both say that Randy's disability was not an issue in their dating or in their decision to get married. Denise relays that though they went to the same middle school too, they didn't meet until later. She said, "I was really shy and didn't talk much. If I don't talk, then Randy doesn't know I exist, because I'm not visible. My interactions with Randy were limited to going down crowded halls of the school and running into him and getting knocked over. But during our junior year, half our classes were together. And we just started dating."

Randy handles awkward situations with class. He describes an episode he had in a restaurant. Though he was a regular customer, there was a new employee at the counter who did not know him and told him he could not come in with his guide dog. "There were three ways I could have handled it. I could have walked out, which I didn't want to do because I really like the food. I could have blown up at her and then maybe got kicked out for disturbing the peace. Or I could do what I did, which was to be calm and explain that Mogul is a guide dog and by law allowed to come in. I usually carry cards that have information and a phone number for people who want to know more. But I find staying calm works with most people."

After describing his resilient nature, Randy is quick to tell others to never give up. What is an example of how you have been successful in doing something that was difficult or new for you?

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors.

Subject: Advice from Randy

When asked if he had advice for young people with disabilities, Randy, who is blind, had plenty to offer. With a quick smile, he replied, "Quite a bit, actually." Here are some of his helpful hints.

• First of all, don't use the disability as a crutch. Don't walk through life and expect people to take care of you because of the disability. Don't make excuses for yourself because of the disability. I've done it before, and it's a one-man pity party. Go out; drive for what you want; don't let the disability get in the way. But if it does, then just jump the hurdle; find a way to get around it.
• I would also say, don't go into a shell. A lot of disabled people will kind of stand back and let life flow by them. They don't interact with people. A lot of them have fairly poor social skills because of it, and that's really sad to see. If these people could go out and interact with other people, that might make their life better.
• My biggest piece of advice is definitely to drive for what you want. And if it's strong enough in your mind and if you want it bad enough, then get it.
• If something happens and you fail, the only thing that you can do is say, "OK, fine, that's not going to work, try it a different way, or go at it again." There are always times that you're going to break down and say "Hey, I can't go on like this." But you go to sleep that night, you wake up the next morning, and you have a different outlook on life... Maybe it's hard, but you do it anyway, and you just keep going at life.
• Get help when you need it. There are a lot of disabled people out there [who] get fanatical about not letting anybody help them. I'm sorry, but I look at that as kind of stupid because people without disabilities need help sometimes, too,... Go in and ask for that help.
• For parents, I would definitely say, "Let your kid with a disability be a kid. Don't shelter them, don't keep anything back. Let them live their life." Treat them like you would your nondisabled child. And don't let them look at the disability as a crutch. Don't let them do that. Trust me.

What advice for success would you add to Randy's list?

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Subject: Todd and an awkward moment

Read the following story about Todd, and/or view the video Taking Charge 1: Three Stories of Success and Self-Determination. Then tell the group how you have handled an awkward situation.

As young Todd faced his prospective employer that chilly day in November, he thought about the events and circumstances that led to this moment. When he graduated with an A.A. degree in computer programming, Todd networked with family, friends, and school contacts to find leads to a job. When these attempts proved fruitless, he sent his resume to all the employers he could find who were advertising for Visual BASIC computer programmers. Eventually, he was called for an interview. Todd chose not to include in his cover letter the fact that he used a wheelchair.

Todd arrived for the interview at the appointed time and had his personal attendant knock on the office door. The large man who answered the door gazed at Todd and asked, "May I help you?" Todd replied, "I'm here for the job interview." The man paused a moment, and then he invited Todd into his office, awkwardly rearranging the furniture to accommodate Todd's wheelchair. The man's first question to Todd was "How did you become disabled?" Although Todd knew that this was not an appropriate question for an employer to ask, he chose to answer it. Eventually, he asked, "How do you use a computer?" By the end of the interview, they were discussing Todd's skills and credentials, not his disability. Todd was offered the position before he left. At eighteen years old, Todd had just landed his first job.

Now Todd lives in his own apartment across the street from his employer and 45 miles from his parents. He works full-time as a computer programmer. He has good friends and an active social life. Though this may seem standard for the average college graduate, these achievements take on a different dimension for a young man who is completely paralyzed below his shoulders.

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Subject: Todd, family and friends

Read the following story about Todd, and or view the video Taking Charge 1: Three Stories of Success and Self-Determination. You'll see how Todd's family members and friends have encouraged him to set high goals, work hard, make decisions, and learn from experiences. Tell the group what expectations your family and/or friends have for you.

Todd has not let anyone inhibit his dreams. Nor has he let his disability dictate his goals. He is in charge of his life and is making his own decisions. His disability requires that he modify the way some things get done and allow more time for certain activities, but it hasn't required that he abandon his dreams or release control of his life.

Todd credits much of his success to the supportive yet demanding environment in which he was raised. Todd grew up in a small town where everyone knew him and his family. His father died in a motorcycle accident when he was four. Losing his father made him an angry and difficult boy. "I just went downhill after that. I was so mad and angry inside. I got into a lot of fights and I swore all the time. I was a real bad kid."

A gun accident left Todd with a spinal cord injury when he was eight. From that day he has felt nothing below his shoulders and has used a ventilator to help him breathe at night. On the day he came home after almost a year in the hospital, Todd recalls: "I wasn't even home 30 minutes when my mother and I got into a big fight, screaming and yelling at each other. My grandma came over and she got all upset that we were upset like a chain reaction. My sister came home and she got yelled at. Then we all just sat there and cried."

Life was difficult, but Todd's mother held the family together. She supported them on what she earned from running a beauty salon. Todd credits his mother with teaching him self-determination. He never questioned his mother's conviction that he would grow up, get a job, move out, and lead a typical American life. "My mother instilled in me from day one that there was no room for failure.

There was no pity in our home. My mother always told me, 'When you're 18, you're out of here.' I never thought once that I'd have a problem finding a place to live or finding work. It never hit me once that I'd have a problem in society. I always knew I would work someday. I knew I had to make a lot of money, because it's expensive to be disabled."

Most people with severe disabilities are unemployed. Todd commends his mother, his faith in God, and the force of his own personality as factors in his successful transition to employment. Access to specialized technology has played a key role in his success as well. Since he cannot type on a standard keyboard, he uses special software to present a keyboard image on the screen. Then he selects letters with a pointing device operated with his mouth.

When Todd was asked why he has succeeded when many individuals with significant disabilities have not, Todd replied, "I keep thinking it's your attitude [and] personality. If it's in your mind that you're going to go for it, you will go for it. I just think it all has to come back to attitude. When you have [a good] attitude, doors open for you. Being disabled and using your disability for good, you have a lot more opportunities than other people—really good opportunities. If you take them, some really neat things can happen in your life."

Todd sees his career in programming as just the beginning for him—an early step in his ongoing journey."There are many, many things I would like to do, like public speaking, teaching. I'd really love to be in radio. I love music. Producing music would be nice. I always thought it would be fun to go to different buildings with contractors and see if their buildings are accessible. I don't know. I have no idea what my purpose here is. But it is something. I pray about it. It's been amazing so far. It's been one adventure after another. It's been a sweet ride. I have no doubt it will continue to be for the rest of my life."

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Subject: Jessie, Randy, Todd, and success strategies

Jessie, Randy, and Todd, who have disabilities related to learning, sight, and mobility, respectively, try different strategies to achieve success. When one doesn't work, they try something else. Give an example of how trying different strategies has brought success in your life or in the life of someone you admire.

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Subject: Jessie, Randy, Todd, and awkward situations

Jessie, Randy, and Todd, who have learning, visual, and mobility disabilities, respectively, have learned to handle awkward situations at times. When Todd arrived for an interview, his future employer asked, "How did you become disabled?" A restaurant employee told Randy his service dog could not come into the establishment. Being able to handle these situations in a positive manner is critical to leading a self-determined life.

Describe an awkward situation you have been in and how you handled it. If you had to do it over, would you handle the situation in a different way? Why?

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Subject: Mentoring tips on success

You can play a significant role in encouraging young people to develop their own definitions of success. You can also help them achieve success. Consider the following suggestions from young people and adults with disabilities who participated in an online discussion about this topic.

• I think teachers and parents need to help their kids understand what it is they want out of life. I believe that happiness is the key factor to a lot of things. It's one of the key factors that goes into picking a school, a career, a spouse, and a home. I believe that success is accomplishing the goals that make you happy.
• Help young people accept their disabilities as a part of who they are yet not allow themselves to be defined by them.
• Provide young people with support that can lead to greater self-confidence, skills, and self-determination.
• Set reasonable boundaries and expectations.
• Help young people make constructive use of their time.
• Model positive values.
• Help kids develop positive friendships and good social skills.
• Understand that you will never be able to shelter kids from everything all of their lives.
• Let them experience things while they are developing problem-solving skills so that they will be able to decide on their own what they should do and not what they think others want them to do. Let them know that their contributions and friendships are valued.
• Teach young people how to use the resources necessary to become independent and achieve a high quality of life. Knowing what's available in the community, taking advantage of those resources, and using them effectively and efficiently are keys to success.

Send this message to the e-community of protégés and mentors. The content is from a research study on characteristics of successful people by Mann (1994).

Subject: Emulating characteristics of successful people

Common characteristics of successful individuals with disabilities include:

• determination
• motivation
• perseverance
• courage
• independence
• resourcefulness
• ambition
• positive attitude
• religious beliefs
• family support

Select one of the characteristics that you would like to make stronger in your life. What can you do to make this characteristic stronger?

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Subject: Achieving success

Everyone has experiences where they are not successful. We can all learn from those experiences.

Describe a situation where you were not completely successful. What could you have done, if anything, to make the outcome more desirable? What could others have done, if anything, to help you?

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Subject: Mentoring tip on self-determination

One of the goals of our e-mentoring community is to help participants become self-determined. Self-determination is "a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior. An understanding of one's strengths and limitations together with a belief in oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination. When acting on the basis of these skills and attitudes, individuals have greater ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of successful adults" (Field, Martin, Miller, Ward, & Wehmeyer, 1998, p. 2).

Gaining control of one's life involves learning and then successfully applying self-determination skills. Becoming more self-determined is a gradual, lifelong process. However, adolescence is a critical time to develop these skills. As you communicate with protégés in our electronic mentoring community, think about how your input can move them along the path of self-determination.

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Subject: Defining self-determination

"Self-determination" means you have control over your life, something we all strive for. It can be defined as a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in:

• goal-directed
• self-regulated
• and autonomous behavior

What does "goal-directed," "self-regulated," or "autonomous" mean to you? Give an example of when you exhibited this quality or when you did not.

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Subject: Characteristics of self-determined people

We know that we can lead more successful, satisfying lives if we are self-determined. But what are some of the characteristics of self-determined people? If you have a high level of self-determination, you are likely to:

• know your needs, desires, interests, strengths, and limitations and use this information to make choices
• be self-confident and have healthy self-esteem
• be creative
• have a clear vision of the future
• feel in control of your life
• be a good self advocate
• be a good negotiator
• have good problem solving skills
• identify and choose from several options and anticipate consequences for each
• take responsibility for your decisions
• manage your behavior and take appropriate actions
• make future plans based on outcomes of previous actions
• be persistent
• know where to find help when you need it

Name one of these characteristics that you would like to make stronger for you and tell why.

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Subject: Taking steps toward self-determination

When you were a baby, adults made all of your choices. As you grow older, you are gradually able to make more decisions for yourself. When you become an adult, you direct your own life.

If you are not yet an adult, tell about something you still need to learn before you are a self-directed adult. What is one thing you can do now to learn this?

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Subject: Mentoring tips on commitment to learning

In a positive relationship with our protégés, you can nurture internal qualities that guide choices and create a sense of purpose and focus. Forty developmental assets have been identified by the Search Institute as building blocks of healthy development of young people. Internal assets are grouped into four categories: commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity. I will include some of them in this and three additional messages. Assets associated with a commitment to learning include the following.

Think about how you can encourage young people to value learning. 

The Developmental Assets™ are reprinted with permission from Search Institute℠. Copyright 1997, 2006 Search Institute, 615 First Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413; 800-888-7828. All Rights Reserved. To view the full list of assets, please visit searchinstitute.org/. The following are registered trademarks of Search Institute: Search Institute℠ and Developmental Assets™.

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Subject: Mentoring tips on positive values

Young people need to develop values that guide their choices. Developmental assets in this category identified by the Search Institute include the following.

Think about ways you can encourage young people to develop positive values. 

The Developmental Assets™ are reprinted with permission from Search Institute℠. Copyright 1997, 2006 Search Institute, 615 First Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413; 800-888-7828. All Rights Reserved. To view the full list of assets, please visit searchinstitute.org/. The following are registered trademarks of Search Institute: Search Institute℠ and Developmental Assets™.

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Subject: Mentoring tips on social competencies

Young people need to develop skills and competencies that equip them to make positive choices, to build relationships, and to succeed in life. Developmental assets in this category identified by the Search Institute include the following.

Think about how you can help young people develop social competencies. 

The Developmental Assets™ are reprinted with permission from Search Institute℠. Copyright 1997, 2006 Search Institute, 615 First Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413; 800-888-7828. All Rights Reserved. To view the full list of assets, please visit searchinstitute.org/. The following are registered trademarks of Search Institute: Search Institute℠ and Developmental Assets™.

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Subject: Mentoring tips on positive values

Young people need to develop a strong sense of their own power, purpose, worth, and promise. Developmental assets in this category identified by the Search Institute include the following.

Think about how you can help young people develop a positive identity. 

The Developmental Assets™ are reprinted with permission from Search Institute℠. Copyright 1997, 2006 Search Institute, 615 First Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413; 800-888-7828. All Rights Reserved. To view the full list of assets, please visit searchinstitute.org/. The following are registered trademarks of Search Institute: Search Institute℠ and Developmental Assets™.

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Subject: Mentoring tips on self-development

The types of online activities for teens that I will be sending out to the whole community include recognized strategies for self-development. Among them are role modeling, affirmations, self-assessment, self-reflection, and visualization. Their meaning and value are summarized below.

Role Modeling

On our life journey it helps to know or learn about people who have personal characteristics, life experiences, or interests similar to our own and who have reached goals of interest to us. We learn vicariously through their experiences and can better visualize ourselves as successful. We can also learn specific strategies for reaching our goals. Unfortunately, young people with disabilities rarely have opportunities to interact with successful adults who have disabilities similar to their own.

In many of the online activities for teens in our program, successful young people and adults with disabilities share their experiences, beliefs, and advice. Readers will find some statements they disagree with; others will reinforce their current beliefs; still others they will embrace for the future. Teens with disabilities can learn from these stories and choose to incorporate attitudes and strategies into their own plans for the future.

Affirmations

Everyone draws conclusions about their circumstances, abilities, and performance. But sometimes, perhaps too often, these statements are negative, such as these:

• That was a dumb thing to say.
• I'll never be able to understand math.
• If I didn't have this disability, I would be popular.

In contrast, affirmations are positive statements. Repeated to ourselves regularly, they can change negative beliefs about ourselves and, ultimately, create a more positive self-image. As we begin to repeat affirmations, we do not need to feel that the statements are completely true for us at the time. Rather, they can be considered goals. Examples include the following:

• I am not easily discouraged.
• I can deal with criticism in a positive way.
• Although Dyslexia makes it difficult for me to read, I am smart.

In some of the email messages in our electronic mentoring community, affirmations of successful people with disabilities are provided as examples. Young people should be encouraged to review the affirmations presented and then develop a few affirmations for themselves. You might encourage them to repeat their affirmations every day, maybe several times a day. They could write them on cards to carry as reminders. By repeating them to themselves, they can slowly replace negative beliefs and thoughts with positive ones.

Self-Assessment

Sometimes it is useful for us to assess our current strengths and challenges regarding learning styles, communication, conflict resolution, and other skills in order to gain insight into the best strategies for reaching our goals. In the online activities for teens you will find exercises that promote self-assessment, as well as interactive instruments that can be found on the Internet. These topics can provide a great starting point for a rich dialogue between teens and mentors.

Self-Reflection

We all question why we do things, why things happen to us, and why people treat us in a certain way. However, often these questions are negative and unproductive. Examples include the following:

• Why did I say that?
• Why am I always late?
• Why does the teacher always call on me when I don't know the answer?
• Why can't my parents be more supportive?

With practice, self-reflective questions can be more productive and lead to greater success in the future. Here are some examples:

• What can I learn from getting that poor grade that will help me get a better grade next time?
• How can I respond to a negative comment about my disability next time?
• What did I accomplish at school this week?
• What are my major strengths?
• What can I do now to prepare for college?

Many of the online activities in our electronic community encourage teens to answer questions that help them understand themselves and others more fully and develop success strategies for the future.

Visualization

Through visualization you can imagine your best self or an ideal situation. You can visualize yourself doing well when taking a test, talking to a teacher, making friends, handling a difficult situation, performing in a job interview. Visualizing a specific situation and practicing various responses can help you feel comfortable in that circumstance and increase the chances for a positive experience.

In some of the online activities in this electronic community, participants are asked to visualize themselves participating in a specific activity or acting in a specific, self-determined way. Sharing the experience with others and role-playing a situation can increase the value of the visualization experience.

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Subject: Mentoring tips on problem solving

The ability to solve problems is a crucial skill in leading a self-determined life. As a mentor you have the opportunity to model this important skill for our protégés. You can use the following process to help protégés learn to identify and solve problems.

1. Identify or clarify the problem. Be specific. Sometimes what seems like one problem is actually two or more separate problems. Focus on one at a time.
2. Outline several possible solutions to the problem. Consider positive and negative aspects of each.
3. Identify the best solution.
4. Identify steps to implement your solution.
5. Implement your solution, making adjustments as necessary.
6. Review the final outcome. Analyze why or why not your solution worked and what you learned from the experience.

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Subject: Advice from teens

Success means different things to different people, and people find it in different ways. Read the following advice from people with disabilities who have been successful personally, socially, academically, and/or professionally. Post a message with advice you would add to the list.

• Don't let others inhibit your dreams.
• Define success for yourself.
• Set goals. Keep your expectations high.
• Don't let your disability or other challenges dictate your goals.
• Look at obstacles as challenges that can be creatively avoided or overcome, in full or in part.
• Develop strategies to reach your goals.
• Plan to work harder than your peers to achieve some goals.
• Become an expert on your abilities and disabilities, how they impact your life, and what accommodations work for you.
• Play to your strengths.
• Use technology as an empowering tool.
• Don't be afraid to fail; you need to take risks to succeed.
• Ask for help when you need it.
• Maintain a positive attitude.
• Don't use life challenges, such as a disability or family background, as an excuse for failure.
• Find the humor in life's experiences.

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Subject: Success stories on the web

There are many people with disabilities who have achieved high levels of success. In this activity you will use the Internet to learn their stories and reflect on your own life.

Read about famous individuals with disabilities on at least one of the websites with the following addresses:

www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir/kidsweb/fpwdinfo.html
www.disabilityhistory.org/people 
hcdg.org/famous.htm

Choose a person and read about their life in depth. Send a short message to our electronic community, including an answer to at least one of the following questions.

1. What attitudes does this person have that contribute to his/her success?
2. What actions has this person taken to improve his/her life and/or the lives of others?
3. What have you learned from this person's story that you can apply to your own life?

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Subject: Affirming success

Listed below are affirmations of individuals with disabilities who have achieved success. Read each statement and think about whether it applies to you.

• I am a creative problem solver.
• I am assertive.
• I am persistent.
• I do not give up easily.
• I am adaptable.
• I can think of ways to accomplish a task differently.
• I can resolve conflicts in a positive way.
• I work hard.
• I am self-disciplined.
• I take risks.
• I communicate.
• I access resources and support.
• I am an effective self-advocate.
• I can negotiate.
• I can deal with conflict and criticism.

Select one of the statements that is not always true for you now, and give one example of what you can do to make this statement stronger in your life. Tell us how a parent, teacher, or other person in your life could help you make this statement stronger in your life and how you can obtain their assistance.