Enhancing Your Advocacy Skills

“When the System Says “No”… what’s a parent to do?”  So often we’re faced with systems that tell us “no” when we ask for something that we passionately believe that our child needs. It could be the response you get when you ask for inclusion, additional adult support, proper job coaching in order to prepare your young adult for the world of work, or any other of a million things. In order to be an effective advocate for your child, or yourself, it’s important to know what advocacy is and how you can develop your skills to push through the “No”.

Advocacy Pointers

– Remain Calm and Treat People with Respect.
– Keep and organize paperwork. Make sure to keep copies of all report cards, progress reports, evaluations, IEPs, IPEs, medical records, homework samples and other documents.
– Learn the lingo. Learn terms you may hear from educators, health-care providers, VR Counselors, and other professionals.
– Don’t wait. When you notice that your child is struggling, and things are not getting better, call a meeting. You can request an IEP meeting ANY TIME YOU WANT.
– Schedule Parent Teacher Conferences. These should not occur at Interim or Annual IEP meetings.
– Build a team. Surround yourself with knowledgeable people who can help you advocate.
– Put in the work. Invest time into building relationships with those who are influential in the decision-making process.
– Join others in your community. Become part of advisories, round tables, and committees that have a strong focus on education, inclusion, employment and independence.

Educational Advocacy

– Advocate to see the data the IEP team is using to make decisions.
– Advocate that your child’s individual needs drive the development of special education and related services – not the school’s available programming.
– Advocate that assessments be performed as often as needed – at least once per year.
– Advocate for real measures of progress that ensure a minimum of one year’s growth for each year of school.
– Advocate to have meaningful input into the creation of the IEP.
– Advocate for transition goals to be put in the IEP.
– Advocate for self-advocacy goals in the IEP.
– Advocate for challenging goals and a change of practice when a goal has not been met.
– Advocate for professionals to join you in “seeing” your child through a realistic lens that accurately measures his/her performance compared to typical age peers.

Inclusion Advocacy

– Know the law
– Provide the facts
– Be certain that your child meets exemption criteria from standardized testing BEFORE removal
– Understand that if a student is OFF standards, this does NOT mean that they cannot be educated in regular education classrooms.
– Understand that inclusion IS a CIVIL RIGHT
– Educate policymakers about positive outcomes of inclusion as adults (reduces welfare costs, dependence on others or the “system”, creates a stronger workforce and chances of employment, and reduces likelihood of incarceration)

Vocational Advocacy

– Contact Vocational Rehabilitation before your child graduates.
– VR services begin at age 14 under the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA).
– Ask VR about Pre-Employment Training opportunities from age 14.
– Ask what your school is doing to teach self advocacy and determination.
– Actively engage in the development of the Individual Plan for Employment (IPE).
– Understand that VR is to provide services necessary to achieve the employment goal identified in the IPE.
– Research colleges for specialized support to meet the needs of your child.
– If the plan is to attend college or trade school, contact the Office of Disabilities in advance of admission completion to obtain details of what they have to offer.