Advocacy Articles
Education
Advocacy: A Self-Help Tutorial for Parents is a free, self-help tutorial I
wrote for parents so they can learn about important pieces of federal
legislation that protect their rights and their child's rights. It also contains
strategies for how to handle conflict with school personnel, etc. Go to the
ebook page to download it now.
Qualities
of An Advocate
Knowing what - and who - you're up against is half the battle. Help for parents
who are fighting "the system." From Tourette Syndrome "Plus".
The
Importance of Good Communication Skills (Acrobat
Reader required)A publication of the Fairfax County Virginia Public School
written by Marcia Goldberg,Educational Specialist for The Parent Resource
Center, gives basic points on resolving differences. To learn more visit
their site
How Parents Can be Advocates
Full title is "How Parents Can be Advocates for Their Children with Learning
Disabilities". Nine steps to effective advocacy. From the National Association
of School Psychologists.
Helping Parents Communicate Better With Schools
Being an effective advocate begins with good communication. The information on
this page applies to parents of children of all ages. From the National
Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education, U.S. Department of
Education
Learning to Negotiate is Part of the Advocacy Process
Vermont advocate Brice Palmer has written
an excellent article about the role of negotiating in advocacy. The article
includes important rules and several excellent tactics and techniques.
How to
Use a Parent IEP Attachment
New Mexico advocate Judy Bonnell wrote,
"I was having difficulty getting districts to take parent IEP attachments
seriously. One district insisted that we could not attach such a document to the
IEP."
"I turned to Prior Notice in the Procedural
Safeguards section of the statute. Prior Notice specifies that suggestions
put on the table must be accepted or rejected, and the IEP team must list the
reasons for accepting or rejecting the proposal.
Parents Must
Understand the Playing Field
Indiana advocate Pat Howey talks to
parents about trust, expectations, power struggles between parents and schools
and how to avoid them, the parental role, and the need to understand different
perspectives.
Paper Trails: Letter Writing &
Documentation
Paper Trails, Letters
Art of
Writing Letters. In this article you learn to use tactics and strategies
when you write letters to the school. You learn about the Blame Approach and the
Story-Telling Approach; the sympathy factor; first impressions; pitfalls; and
the powerful decision-making Stranger.
12
Rules for Writing Great Letters. If you have a problem with the school
or concerns about your child's program, you must document your concerns in
writing. This article includes twelve rules for writing letters, along with
editing tips.
Documentation and Paper Trails. Good records are important to effective
advocacy. Learn how to use logs, calendars and journals to create paper trails;
how to document phone calls and meetings.
The
Paper Chase: Managing Your Child's Documents. If you have kids with
special education needs, you can be overwhelmed by the paperwork in no time. In
this article by Massachusetts attorney Bob Crabtree, you will learn what
documents are important and how to organize your child's documents. Learn how to
use a log and create documents to prevent problems and get better services for
your child.
Using Story-Telling to Persuade. See how a father used the story-telling
approach of letter writing when he asked the school district to help his son. Do
you see Joe through his father's eyes? Do you understand why the parents removed
Joe from the public school program? What do you think should be done to help
Joe?
Communicating with school staff
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