Module IV:  
The Advocacy Continuum Exercise


Goal of Module:  The goal of this module is to give new and existing CAC members a clear understanding of their role in advising the UCEDD.  

Objectives of Module:  At the completion of this module, participants will be able to:
1. Give two examples of advocacy outside the role of a CAC member
2. Give two examples of a role as a CAC member

Notes for Presenter:
The Advocacy Continuum exercise was developed in response to the needs expressed by individuals who have worked with or served on CACs for a long time.  This exercise was developed in response to help UCEDDs work with their CAC members to understand their role, especially for people serving on the CAC that are disability advocates in other roles in their lives.  


Module Outline

Introduction (10 min.)

Topic: The Advocacy Continuum Exercise (20 min.)

Summary (5 min.)	

Questions & Comments from Participants (10 min.)

Criterion Check (5 min.)


Preparations: 
 
Materials for Module IV:
Note paper
Pens
Copies of the PowerPoint slides
Flip chart paper 
Criterion Checks (“How Did We Do?”) 

Administrative Details: 

Review content of module and make notes for yourself
Review agenda and time line for module
Discuss criterion checks, instructor, and module evaluations 

Hand Outs:  

Copies of the PowerPoint slides
Criterion Checks
Advocacy Continuum
Advocacy Continuum Worksheet

Begin Slides.


Introduction 

Slides #1-2:  Introduction of purpose of the module: 

Suggested script:
Today we are going to go through an exercise that will help us understand what advocacy means.  By thinking about what it means to be a disability advocate, we can better understand the different roles we play in our lives, including the role of an advisory committee member for a UCEDD.

Introductions.

Topic: The Advocacy Continuum

Slide #3:  The Advocacy Continuum Exercise:

Explain that you will now begin the Advocacy Continuum exercise.

Ask participants to take out their Advocacy Continuum handouts.  


Slide #4:  Discussion on what advocacy means to individuals: 

Ask participants to give a short description of what advocacy means to them.

Note to Instructor: 
Write responses on flip chart paper or a board.  


Slide #5:  Understanding the difference between education and advocacy:

Explain to participants the difference between educating and advocating.  

Use the basic description in the slide to get people thinking about the difference.  

Explain that it is important to understand the differences between the two.  

Emphasize that as representatives of the UCEDD, CAC members advise the UCEDD and educate people in the community about the work of the UCEDD.  

Explain to participants that when an individual advocates for themselves, for family members or other people, they need to do so when representing themselves, not the UCEDD or another organization they may work with.     

Explain to participants that being able to understand the best ways to get a message across and who you are speaking for when you do so is a great tool when trying to make a positive impact.  

Suggested script: 

When you want to change something in your life or in the lives of others, stop and think about the best strategy to go about it: 

1.  Ask yourself who you are representing.
2.  Ask yourself what the outcome would be for different approaches: what would be an advocacy approach?  What would be an education approach?  
3.  Then decide what you think would be the best path to take and consult with others.
4.  You do not have to leave your role as an advocate behind when you enter a CAC meeting.  Rather, you take on a role as an advisor to the UCEDD.  If you are an advocate in your life, you bring that experience with you when you advise the UCEDD.


Slide #6:  CAC Members as Educators: 

Explain how a CAC member can represent the UCEDD in the community when playing the role as an educator, not an advocate.  

Ask people for real-world examples of this. Get people started thinking with these suggestions: 

Volunteering to sit at a display booth at a conference.

Educating your policymakers about the resources the UCEDD provides to people with disabilities in your state. 

Telling your friends, community members, and other organizations you are affiliated with about the resources of the UCEDD.


Slide #7:  Bringing Experience to the Table:

Explain further that when you attend a CAC meeting, you bring your experience with you when providing advice to the UCEDD.  

Suggested script:
If part of your perspective comes from your experience as an advocate, then that is one way you can advise the UCEDD.  Your personal experience is what they want to hear about the most.  The work of a UCEDD is constantly evolving.  Your input is important but sometimes they might not have a project or funding at that time to address advice from CAC members.  It is important to be flexible when serving on an advisory committee for a UCEDD.  For example, if the UCEDD does not have the capacity to meet a need identified by a CAC member, a good next step is to brainstorm about how to find funding or partnerships that could help the UCED work toward meeting this need.   


Slides #8-9:  Using the Advocacy Continuum to Distinguish Roles:

Explain that you will use the Advocacy Continuum diagram to discuss the different roles of the disability advocate and to better understand the role of a CAC member.  

Suggested script:
The Advocacy Continuum exercise is for UCEDD staff and CAC members to open a dialogue around the different roles of a disability advocate.  The Advocacy Continuum is not meant to depict a “progression” of the roles of a disability advocate, rather to assist CAC members in distinguishing between the different roles to better understand their role utilizing their personal experience when advising the UCEDD.


Ask your experienced CAC members, UCEDD CAC staff or your UCEDD Director to share some quotes or anecdotes for you to use on distinguishing between roles as an advocate in the community vs. that of a CAC member when presenting this module.

Sample quotes to share from experienced CAC members on distinguishing roles: 

“I know our CAC members struggle with their role. Our chairperson is currently encouraging members to get involved in their home communities in a wide variety of ways and asking them to report back on those experiences. This helps individuals move from a position of reflecting only their own perspective to learning from many other people some of whom are like them and some of whom are different. We are always careful to indicate that we cannot do personal advocacy for people and we want feedback that points us in the direction of looking at issues with broad impact.”
 
“We have a gentleman who is on our committee and who is blind. He is employed with a telecommunications firm where he takes hotel reservations. He got this job (his first) when he was 29 years old. The other day he told the CAC about the difficulties of working and keeping his benefits. We sponsor a Medicaid buy-in project and developed “worker’s with disability” insurance for the state. Even though he has listened to two overviews of this project in meetings he didn’t make the connection between those projects and his own situation. The reality is that sometimes we do projects which can directly benefit people on the committee and they need our support to help them draw on their experience when advising us.”

Point out picture numbers 3 and 7 on the Advocacy Continuum as an example of the difference between educating and advocating.  Suggested questions for facilitating a discussion:

Ask participants: How is writing your legislator (picture #3) about your personal experience different from educating your legislator about the resources of your UCEDD (picture #7)?  Is it appropriate to represent your UCEDD when talking about your personal experience? (the answer is generally no)

State you will come back to the Advocacy Continuum diagram.  


Slides #10-11:  Advocacy Continuum Worksheet:

Ask participants to take a minute to write down an example for each type of advocacy on their worksheet.

Note to Instructor: 

Write responses on flip chart paper or a board.  


Slide #12:  Discussion:

Ask for a few volunteers to point out where they think their example falls on the Advocacy Continuum. Have a discussion to see if the other participants agree.   

Slide #13-14:  Advising as An Advocate: the “Hats” Discussion:

Opportunity to revisit the concept of advising as an advocate.  

Ask participants to give example of an experience when it was hard to know what “hat” to wear.  Explain a “hat” means the role you are in or who you are representing.  Explain that the Advocacy Continuum helps decide what hat to wear when opportunities to effect positive change in the lives of people with disabilities arise.  


Slide #15:  Suggested script:  

Now that we have dealt with examples that make it hard to decide what to wear, or where the situation lies on the Advocacy Continuum, let’s think of some “Black and White” examples.”

Use examples #1-4 from the Advocacy Continuum to show appropriate activities outside the role of a CAC member.  

Use examples #5-7 from the AC to show appropriate activities advising the UCEDD. Ask participants to offer their own examples.  


Slide #16:  Now that you have gone over distinguishing between roles, have a more in-depth discussion of how people view their role as a CAC member after having gone through the exercise.  

Summary

Questions & Comments from Participants

Criterion Check 

It is suggested that participants complete a brief questionnaire regarding the topics discussed in this module.  This is a way to make sure participants have learned the basic content and gives both the instructor and participant a chance to go over what might have been unclear or over-looked.  

Emphasize that these surveys are to help the participants and the instructors determine if they have learned new information from this session and to assist the instructors in improving their presentations and curriculum.  You can conduct the criterion check in a way that works best with your participants.  Some suggested uses:

Make a game out of it (like a quiz show).

Ask for each participant to volunteer an answer for each question then write the answers on a flip chart and go over what people feel they have not fully understood.

Have people work in small groups to answer the questions.

Make sure each participant has the tools to participate.  For example, someone might need a large print version or the questions read out loud to them.   

Module IV Criterion Check

“How Did We Do?”

Topic:

The Advocacy Continuum


1. Give two examples of advocacy outside the role of a CAC member:


2. Give two examples of a role as a CAC member:


Consumer Advisory Committee Orientation Curriculum
Instructor’s Manual


Consumer Advisory Orientation Curriculum
Instructor’s Manual