Daniel on Self-Advocacy

I am an educational aid in a school district. During the afternoons and weekends after I get done in the school district I referee. I do it in three different sports: volleyball, softball, and basketball. And then when I'm not doing that, I am a public speaker in the autism field, impacting people's lives. Self-advocacy is being able to express your needs, your wants, and your desires in a manner that you're taking initiative and responsibility for your actions. Self advocacy is important because you're not going to be living with your mother when you're 40 years old. So it's very, very important that you take action in being able to self advocate. I've learned how to self advocate in several ways. Most recent, actually, was being a homeowner. So I had to research about homes: I had to find out what I like in a home, do I want 15 or 30 year mortgage, what's best for my family budget, during that whole time. So that was one example. Finding out what classes I needed to take in college in order to graduate college. Trying to find a job. Trying to learn how I lost jobs in the past in order to next time do better in the next job. Those are examples of self advocating. For young people who are on the autism spectrum learning how to self advocate I would tell them that you need to start early, often, consistently, as much as you can to learn how to self advocate. This could be learning how to do chores in your household, this could be keeping a daily planner to find out what you need to get done in your school work, day-to-day, and not rely on your parents to do everything for you. And to understand that your parents are not going to live forever and don't expect to be living in their house when you're 40 years old. Those are some things I would strongly, strongly recommend. And the more you can do, the better off you're going to be in the long run and the more confident you will be as well.