Self-Advocacy is Voluntary: Walk Our Talk
Self-advocacy is about having a say over yourself and having choices. It is about learning to speak for yourself and also choosing when you want someone to speak for you.
It is also about getting rid of ideas that make people feel like their voice is not good enough.
It is important that people have the right to pass in a group.
If they don’t want to speak, they can pass to the next person. This is what we mean by the right to pass.
A great idea is to go around the room and let each person give their input on a question or comment on an idea. This gives everyone a chance to speak.
Give people time and space to think or get their words out. This may mean waiting in silence for a bit.
Try to keep from speaking for people. Give them the chance to speak for themselves.
People with louder voices may need to step back and give others a chance to speak. You may need to give a job to someone so that they feel they have a clear role and time to speak.
Speaking up in a group might take some people time because they may have had experiences that make them feel shy to speak in a group. If the group is positive and members feel that people want to hear them, over time they may feel more comfortable speaking.
Being encouraging when a person speaks, giving them time to speak, and honoring the person’s choices around speaking or not speaking are all ways we “walk the talk”.