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Peer Power for Educators
"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." -- Warren Buffett
Working with students with disabilities is a wonderful privilege and helping them grow into strong, independent individuals is an honor. Peer Power honors all educators who dedicate themselves to providing guidance and support for students with disabilities. Thank you!
Developing IEPs, SOPs, determining accommodations, keeping track of all the paperwork, meetings, and the many other important tasks you have are so very critical to your students successful transition from high school into the adult world.
Peer Power is a program that greatly supports your efforts. By providing an opportunity for students with disabilities to come together with their peers in a fun, relaxed social environment, these students practice what teachers have provided. Peer Power members share their knowledge, skills and support to help each other become better prepared to transition from high school to adult life.
Sometimes students with disabilities may not feel prepared to actively participate in planning for their future. Sometimes the planning is done for them by others who want to provide the best for them. Support, guidance, and input from parents and educators is extremely important, however students benefit greatly by taking the lead role in making decisions about things they feel are important in their life and for their future.
The great thing about Peer Power is that the peer group environment provides the comfort of an equal relationship giving youth the chance to speak up and explore ideas without worry.
Peer Power groups provide young people, perhaps for the first time, a place to use their voices on equal grounds with others. Peers understand what it is like to be in transition. They share the same questions and even insecurities.
Peer Power is an opportunity for youth with all types of disabilities to develop a sense of personal power by expressing themselves, talking about their choices, exploring ideas and discovering their potential.
Peer Power members gain experiences that help them learn how to effectively work with teachers by being able to actively communicate and participate in the planning and development of their IEPs and transition plans. Together they talk about their goals and their future and discover what they need to do to fit these goals into their transition plans.
There are so many ways you present students with disabilities with information about transitioning. Peer Power doesn't duplicate this information, but instead students use Peer Power time to gain an understanding of how to put transition information into practice in a way that fits their unique and personal needs.
In Peer Power members learn two very key skills - how to plan for their future and how to assert their choices in matters that mean a lot to them. When members have an interest and goal in a career, education, a hobby or learning a new skill, the group works together to explore and discover the steps they need to take to reach those goals.
Peer Power members develop assertiveness by participating in group discussions, talking about their experiences and providing information to others about things they know a lot about. Members develop assertiveness through role playing IEPs, job interviews, how to ask for accommodations or other things that are important to them.
With the support of their peers, members become more assertive in 'real life' and are able to talk about their needs, goals and plans to parents, teachers and others.
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