Service · 07 of 10
Self-Advocacy
Know your rights, express your preferences, and confidently take ownership of your own life.
What this looks like
Self-advocacy is the thread that runs through every other skill. It means knowing what you want, knowing your rights, and feeling confident speaking up — to your doctor, your case manager, your landlord, your boss, your support team, your family. It is the most important skill we teach, because everything else builds on it.
How we teach it
- Identify what's important to you and put it into clear words
- Practice naming a preference and following through on it
- Learn your rights as a person served by a Regional Center vendor
- Role-play hard conversations before they happen in real life
- Speak up safely in your IPP meetings and other planning settings
A real session
Your annual IPP meeting is in three weeks. Together we talk about what's been working this year and what you want to change. You write down two things you want to ask for in the meeting, in your own words. We role-play how you'll bring them up — and we'll be at the meeting with you, supporting your voice, not replacing it.