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Youth Leadership Forum: News

YLF Trick or Retreat Self Advocacy Event

On October 30^th, the Maryland Youth Leadership Forum (MD-YLF) held a Self Advocacy Retreat for the 2010 YLF summer candidates. The day-long event focusing on teaching high school students with disabilities how to advance their self advocacy skills was held at Bowie State University. The plan was to learn self advocacy skills and to formulate and present a bill to a panel of “legislators.” As with the summer event, the staff was made up of MD-YLF alumni and young adults with disabilities who volunteered their Saturday. As an added bonus, The Hugh Gregory Gallagher Motivational Theatre brought their unique skills to the retreat.

The day started with the theater group and the students carrying out a couple of improvisational exercises — turning a household object into something else. It was a fantastic way to get the students talking to each other and bouncing ideas off each either.

Motivational Theatre followed with three of their own performances. Each actor represented a person with a disability, who told their story about the accomplishments in their lives and how they overcame their obstacles. In this way, the students saw an example of what the day was going to consist of and how to use acting in their everyday lives.

After the monologues, we switched gears and turned the acting over to the students. They divided into three groups and discussed scenarios and issues in their lives. They then created skits and scenes of facing bullies, dealing with siblings, and issues at school.

One student shared that students at her school who use wheelchairs and walkers are not able to go on school field trips due to the lack of accessible transportation for them to travel to and from the sites. We used this information to formulate the “mock bill.” Two groups were formed. One group presented the bill: That all students ought to be allowed to attend field trips during the school year; that no student should be left behind. The other group answered the questions posed by the panel of “legislators” made up of staff members.

The students and the staff did a fantastic job taking on their roles and acting out how the scenario would play out in real life. The students answered tough questions, made valid arguments, including a threat to go to the media if things were not changed. Natural born politicians in this group!

After all the excitement with the mock bill presentations, the students listened to a self advocacy panel—an event that is always part of the summer forum. On this panel, the staff shared some of their personal experiences with disabilities. Students were encouraged to ask questions and converse back and forth on the stories the staff shared, and to also give suggestions on different ways of approaching each scenario.

The day was a huge success; where everyone who attended, came out a stronger self advocate. Students were excited and eager to hear about upcoming events and how they could be involved. These students showed so much growth within one day. We look forward to working with them in the future. Thank you to everyone who was involved in making this special day happen!

- Kim Wilhelm

staff self advocacy panel one of the preformances of motivational theatre students presenting their bill

"Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future."
-Edwin H. Friedman

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