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)
feel________.”
(my feelings)
“Could we try this?”
(results of behavior)
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
Imagery Exercise
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
Identify methods
techniques
practice
Target specific goals
measurable
difficult
Assign target dates
short-term
long-term
Set rewards
motivation
consistent
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 selfadvocacy.
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
Positive Thoughts
Positive
Self-Talk
Self-Talk into
•
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
Parenting for high potential.
NAGC,
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.