How to access web controls in from a function.

Hi,
I have some web controls inside a layout template. I need to access them from a function, which is not an  ItemDataBound sort of function.
I tried
private void MyFunction()
{..... 
 LinkButton SortButton = (LinkButton)myListView.FindControl("SortButton");
...} 
 
but it won't work. Can anybody help? Thanks.
 
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