Teaching The Gifted The Skills For Self-Advocacy Dr. Agnes Meyo Cyrie Wilson Kelly Roth St. Louis Association for Gifted Education St. Louis, MO 314-780-3621  

Outline 1.  What Do The Gifted Usually Want? 2.  What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?   3. What Are Some Strategies For Teaching              Self-Advocacy? 4.  Summary 5.  References

What Do The Gifted Usually Want?                     School  More:        Technology         Higher level sharing         Options for demonstration of mastery         Meaningful instructional methods         Clarity of expectations for performance  Less:         Repetition of information         Worksheets         Conformity to structure         Group work         Written proof of mastery

What Do The Gifted Usually Want?                     Home       More:         Validation and approval of opinions         Meaningful discussion         Choices regarding activities         Natural consequences         Clarity of expectations for performance     Less:         Inconsistent limits and consequences         Negative statements and yelling         Rigidity of values and beliefs         Worry regarding future success

What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy? 1.  Assess the Situation   2.  Speak up 3.  Kill Them with Kindness

What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?     1.  Assess the Situation         What is my request?           Who is the audience?           Where is the environment?           What is my personality and learning style?  

What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy? 2.  Speak up “When you (___________), I feel __________.”                                      (their behavior)                        (my feelings) “When I _________, then ___________, and I                       (their behavior)                  (results of behavior) feel________.”          (my feelings) “Could we try this?”  

What Are Three Steps to Self-Advocacy?  3.  Kill them with Kindness             Use pleasant tone and body language.               Ask their opinion.               Express appreciation.

What Are Some Strategies For Teaching Self-Advocacy?   Goal -Setting  Imagery Self-Talk    

What Are Some Strategies For Teaching Self-Advocacy? Goal -Setting                        Goal Setting Guidelines                 Goal Setting Exercise:  My Goals                 Goal Setting Exercises:  My Motivators                                 

What Are Some Strategies For Teaching Self-Advocacy? Imagery                                                        Imagery Guidelines                                                         Imagery Exercise                                                         Controlling Images                                                         Increase Self-Awareness

What Are Some Strategies For Teaching Self-Advocacy? Self-Talk               Self-Talk Guidelines              Self-Talk Exercise:              Restructuring Negative Self-Talk                              into Positive Self-Talk               Self-Talk Exercise:                           Developing Positive Affirmations

Goal-Setting Guidelines Establish baseline frequency intensity Target specific goals measurable difficult   Set rewards motivation consistent Identify methods techniques practice Assign target dates short-term long-term Include all types process performance outcome

Goal Setting Exercise: My Goals

Goal Setting Exercises: My Motivators         In my free time, I like to ...                          see:                   touch:                         taste:                                     smell:                                                   hear:                                                                     do:     

Goal Setting Exercises: My Motivators        I would enjoy....           On a daily basis:               On a weekly basis:              On a monthly basis:

Imagery Guidelines    1.  Imagery coupled with physical practice is superior to either alone.   2.  Internal and external perspectives of imagery are both beneficial, but an internal perspective produces greater neuromuscular activity.   3.  Individual differences exist in imagery ability but systematic imagery training has been shown to be effective in increasing visual and kinesthetic imagery.

Imagery Guidelines 4.  Vivid images are most effective, and skills for increasing vividness can be developed. 5.  High controllability of positive outcome images facilitates performance.  Low controllability results in decreased performance when outcome images are negative.

Imagery Exercise: Controlling Images 1.  Choose a particular situation where you have trouble advocating for yourself.   2.  Begin mentally practicing self-advocacy over and over.  See and feel yourself doing this from inside your body.  3.  If you make a mistake, stop the image and repeat it, attempting to perform perfectly every time. 

Imagery Exercise: Controlling Images 4.  Recreate past experiences in which you have not advocated for yourself well.  5.  Take careful notice of what you are doing wrong.  6.  Now imagine yourself advocating correctly.  7.  Focus on how your body feels as you go through different situations.

Imagery Exercise: Increasing Self-Awareness 1.  The purpose of this exercise is to help you to become more aware of things that bother you with your self-advocacy.  2.  Think about the times when suddenly the situation went from good to bad.  3.  Recreate several of these experiences in your mind.  4.  Try to pinpoint the specific factors that negatively influenced you. 

Imagery Exercise: Increasing Self-Awareness 5.  After becoming aware of these factors, take several minutes to recreate the situations, develop appropriate strategies to deal with the negative factors, and imagine the situations again; but this time imagine yourself using better strategies to keep the negative factors from interfering.  6.  Reinforce yourself by feeling proud and confident that you were able to control the negative factors and advocate for yourself well.

Self-Talk Guidelines 1.  Use of self-talk involves: Identification of automatic self-statements Techniques for controlling self-talk Restructuring negative self-talk into positive   2.  Positive vs. negative self-talk: While positive self-talk facilitates enhanced performance, negative self-talk may precipitate performance decrements due to increased distraction from the task and autonomic performance.

Self-Talk Guidelines 3.  Types of negative self-talk/irrational beliefs: Catastrophizing Worth depends on achievement Blaming Polarized thinking 4.  Techniques for controlling negative self-talk: Thought stopping Countering Reframing Affirmations 5. Anticipate Anticipate a lag time between verbalizing self-statements and feeling increased self-confidence.

Restructuring Negative Self-Talk into Positive Self-Talk Negative Thoughts         I don’t deserve to get what I want         I don’t want to let others down.         I am always causing problems.         I am always making mistakes.         I am lazy and uncooperative.         My ideas are stupid

Restructuring Negative Self-Talk into Positive Self-Talk Positive Thoughts     I deserve to get what I want.     I believe in myself and others believe in me.       I am always generating better ways to do things.     It’s okay to make a mistake.  I will learn from my                         mistakes.     I am motivated and want to cooperate.     My ideas are great, and I need to share them.

Self-Talk Exercise Developing Positive Affirmations     "I will defeat my self-doubts and fears."     "I am confident that I can do it."       "I can think on my feet."     "I can stand up for myself."     "I have new ideas to share."     "I can collaborate.."

Summary  1.  Self-advocacy is the key to success for the gifted 2.  The gifted have definite ideas about how they perform best at home and school. 3.  Self-advocacy involves assessing the situation and speaking up for yourself with kindness. 4.  Strategies for teaching the gifted self-advocacy include goal-setting, imagery, and self-talk.  5.  The greater the self-advocacy, the greater the opportunity for the gifted to achieve success.

References Baum, S. & Owen, S.  (2004).  To be gifted and learning disabled.  Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press. Douglas, D.  (2001).  Four simple steps to self-advocacy.  In     NAGC, Parenting for high potential. Quart A.  (2006).  Hothouse kids:The dilemma of the gifted child.  New York NY: Penguin. Reiff, H.  (2007).  Self-advocacy Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities.  Port Chester: Dude Publishing. Schultz, R. And Delisle, J. (2007).  More than a test score: Teens talk about being gifted, talented, or otherwise extra-ordinary.  Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit. Webb, J, Amend, E., Webb, N., Goerss, J., Beljan, P. & Olenchek, R.  (2005).  Misdiagnosis and dual diagnoses of gifted children and adults.  Scottsdale, AZ:  Great Potential.