Self Aware is a program designed specifically to help persons with disabilities to gain control of their own lives through a shared self reflection process. What does this mean?  It means that each day your son, daughter and/or student will look at a growth chart (that they create during set up) and reflect on four areas they are improving on. They will move themselves up the chart each day reaching rewards along the way. As they master goals, new goals replace the old ones making the growth continue as long as the program is in place. Most of all it increases quality of life and it works!  This is an exciting, must have tool for anyone raising or working with a person with a disability

Read more in “How it works” and “About Us”

 

About the  author

 

For 15 years I have been working to help people with disabilities.  The past 7 years as a special education teacher in a public school.  During this time I have worked in the elementary, middle and high school levels. There is nothing more satisfying to me than helping those with disabilities, help themselves.

 

 From the beginning it always bothered me that while helping a person with a disability it seemed that the control was in the hands of specialists.  Many of these specialists are expensive and use the language they learned from their education.  There is nothing wrong with this, but it always seemed the meetings would end with more questions than answers for the parents.  As I participated in more and more of these types of interventions it occurred to me that the responsibility of the behavior that needed changed was in the hands of everyone except the person with the disability. Self reflection is such a big part of our society I wondered why they were not given the tools to help change their own behavior. Therefore not just change undesired behavior, but grow as a person and begin to teach this at home from a early age.

Frustrated I began to develop a program that would include self reflection as a form of growth.  A program that can be understood by all who read it and, most importantly, that is individualized to each person.  Truly, no two Self Aware Programs will look the same as each person is different with different needs. It is a program that will evolve with the person and change over time as the person grows. A program that is pro-active in teaching life skills and not reactive to behaviors. Additionally, I wanted to have a place where parents could consult each other and share what they have learned, no matter which state they live in, and ask questions about their son/daughter’s program in one secured place.

Over several years I created what I am now calling the Self Aware Program. My wife and I began a 5 year test period covering a multitude of disabilities including: Autism, Downs Syndrome, Intellectual disabillity, ADHD, ADD, Specific Learning Disability, Emotionally and Behaviorally Disturbed and many more.  We even saw the program used in group settings and classrooms (as a behavioral management tool), with each student having their own goals.  The results were staggering and we were encouraged by parents and teachers to make this available for everyone and not just the people in our community. 

We are so excited to now be able to do this and as a result the program has helped people keep their jobs, increase learning time at school, get into group homes, decrease undesired behaviors and increase quality of life.  The 24 hour a day forum for asking questions to me or other parents in a secure setting is a reminder that we are all in this together.  

Richard Rasanen MEd (Masters Degree of Science in special education)