What is disability advocacy coaching?

What’s the difference between an advocate and an advocacy coach?

What does the coach do?

How will I communicate with my coach?

What is disability advocacy coaching?

Disability advocacy coaching recognizes that there are times in the lives of families and individuals with disabilities when advocacy will need to take place.

When a child with a disability is born, most parents describe being immediately catapulted into a dizzying world full of predictions and recommendations. There is barely time to adjust to life with a new baby before they are asked to make a myriad of critical decisions. While all parents ask big questions at the beginning of a new person’s life, parents of children with disabilities have to worry about alarming things like potential surgeries, adaptive devices, and physiotherapy.

And it doesn’t end there. As children grow, families need to consider educational options, navigate through IEP meetings, and plan for transition from school to community. Concerns about the future arise from the very beginning and persist as a child grows. Where will my child live? What kind of job can my child do? Will they marry? Who will take care of my child if something happens to me? It can be overwhelming.

Faced with the everyday logistical rush, the larger questions often go unanswered. But they don’t go away. Clearly, busy as we are, not acting is not a good option. The good news is that advice abounds. Books, websites, support groups and conferences are not in short supply. Unfortunately, much of what is said is conflictual. What is the best support for my child? Controversy sometimes seems the only constant. It’s a confusing world out there, with staunch and passionate advocates on all sides of every issue.

What’s the difference between an advocate and an advocacy coach?

supports them to build the capacity to resolve issues constructively.The coach provides support, motivation, and training in a process that builds on the client’s strength and inherent wisdom.

Advocacy coaches believe that individuals and families are capable of creating the best supports. The philosophy of advocacy coaching is that people – families and individuals with disabilities - are inherently creative, resourceful and whole. They are not broken, and do not need fixing. What is needed instead are the skills and supports to help envision and create new and innovative futures, intervene constructively in conflictual situations, and the follow-through support to realize those goals.

What does the coach do?

An advocacy coach works in a one-to-one relationship with a family member, and/or an individual who has a disability. Throughout the process, the client remains the expert. The coach simply helps the client articulate, prioritise and fine-tune what is possible, focusing on the positive future. She will assist the client to brainstorm and create plans based on larger goals, breaking the process into manageable steps, and will then help the client follow through in making the needed changes.

Individuals with disabilities and their families are not often encouraged to ‘dream big’. Instead, they are told to be ‘realistic’ – which generally means to accept the status quo. An advocacy coach takes the opposite approach. Advocacy coaching promotes the ‘big dream’, asking bigger questions and helping clients to innovate, and overcome both internal and external obstacles in the realization of that ‘bigger dream’.

The process is voluntary and confidential.

A coach works with you by:

• Listening to you without judgement
• Asking the right questions
• Keeping the conversation focused
• Challenging you to look past the obvious answers
• Assisting you to brainstorm options
• Coaching you in alternative strategies
• Helping you get past the things that get in the way
• Acknowledging the reality of your situation, while...
• Encouraging you to dream ‘big’
• Creating strategies with you to ensure follow-through

A coach also can help you:

• Increase effectiveness in advocacy
• Improve communication skills
• Build alliances
• Prepare for IEP meetings
• Develop plans and strategies for both long and short term goals

In short, an advocacy coach works ‘with’ you, not ‘on’ you.

How will I communicate with my coach?
(I don’t have much time. Besides, I live in California and my coach lives in Canada…)

Disability advocacy coaching, like other forms of life coaching, can be done over the telephone or in person. Either way is equally effective. The client and coach agree in advance on a mutually convenient time. The value of telephone contact is that it can happen anywhere. It doesn’t matter if I am in Duluth, and you are in Amsterdam, we can still keep our appointments. Email support is also available.

Still unsure?

I’m willing to give you a free 30 minute sample of my coaching.

You’ve got nothing to lose and possibly a great deal to gain.

I look forward to hearing from you.