14 to 17 Self-advocacy - victastudents.org.uk

Self-advocacy

You are your best advocate. Feel empowered to use your voice to communicate and negotiate your needs. It all starts when you believe in yourself.

Self-advocacy

You are your best advocate. Feel empowered to use your voice to communicate and negotiate your needs. It all starts when you believe in yourself.

I spoke up for myself…

finding courage

“Going on the Thailand trip with VICTA has definitely given me the confidence to challenge myself and continue to organise holidays with accessible holiday providers and increase the long list of sensory experiences that l have had the opportunity to build.”

Read on

growing confidence

“I tried my best to be as open as I could in terms of how Retinitis Pigmentosa was impacting my life, and what support I’d need in lieu of that to navigate this ever sighted world, but the prospect of addressing the topic terrified me more often than it should have.”

Read on

reaching my goals

“I realised that I had a choice – to let my disability define me and dictate my life, or to strive to get to where I want to be, block out the wrongly preconceived ideas and prove those people wrong.”

Read on

I spoke up for myself…

finding courage

“Going on the Thailand trip with VICTA has definitely given me the confidence to challenge myself and continue to organise holidays with accessible holiday providers and increase the long list of sensory experiences that l have had the opportunity to build.”

Read on

growing confidence

“I tried my best to be as open as I could in terms of how Retinitis Pigmentosa was impacting my life, and what support I’d need in lieu of that to navigate this ever sighted world, but the prospect of addressing the topic terrified me more often than it should have.”

Read on

reaching my goals

“I realised that I had a choice – to let my disability define me and dictate my life, or to strive to get to where I want to be, block out the wrongly preconceived ideas and prove those people wrong.”

Read on

Grow with VICTA

VICTA Activities for 14-17s

It all starts with confidence and believing in yourself. Coming together with others on VICTA activities begins your journey to greater independence.

Join

My experiences with VICTA …

Find out from ‘Emmy’s VIP Life’ how her positive experiences attending VICTA activities helped her build her confidence, a big step to becoming your own self-advocate.

Take your own steps to self-advocacy

A guide on how to self-advocate (speak up or yourself)

Guide Dogs has some great advice to help you self-advocate in an effective manor. Get to grips with their ‘high five’…

Who?
When?
Where?
What?
How?

You can use these steps with the information in their article to create positive outcomes to issues you may face along the way.

Visit the Guide Dogs website to perfect your high five

UCAN

UCAN Productions is a performance and creative arts cooperative run by and for blind and partially sighted young people between the age of 7 and 25. They promote self-advocacy and self-confidence through their workshops and activities.

Find out about the UCAN Podsquad – confidence building & digital accessibility

Find out about more about UCAN and how you can join

What is self-leadership and how it can help you?

In this BBC Bitesize article, Ruthie Zerai, writer and self-development coach, talks about self-leadership and how it can help you if you reach the point in life where you feel stuck. Help yourself get back on track and reach your goals.

Read the BBC Bitesize article

Boost your confidence with the Prince’s Trust

the Prince’s Trust have a range of programmes to develop your skills and boost your confidence. Take part in a community project, go on an adventure, or receive a grant to help you make your next step.

Find out more on the Prince’s Trust website

Self-advocacy advice from Guide Dogs

A guide on how to self-advocate (speak up or yourself) for young people and for parents to share with a younger child, to give them tips for when they’re not around.

Find out more on the Guide Dogs website

Look Mentors

If you’re aged 11-29 and at school, university/college or looking for work, Look have a mentor ready to help you achieve your potential. Sign up to be matched and start chatting about anything relating to your visual impairment.

Find out more on the Look website

We chat to Oxford University Medical Student Tiri Hughes

Tiri chatted to the VICTA Science Fair about how important it is, as a student with a vision impairment, to be your own self-advocate. She talks about her own educational path into medicine and how accessible she is finding her university studies.