Qualities
of An AdvocateKnowing what - and who - you're up against is half the battle. Help for parents who are fighting "the system." From Tourette Syndrome "Plus".
The parent is the first line of defense in advocating for the needs of the child. These articles can help you be a more effective parent advocate.
Advocacy
Complaints
Documentation
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".
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. This ebook is in .pdf format. If you do not have Adobe Reader on your system,
you will not be able to read it, so take a minute and
download the free Adobe reader and install it if you don't already have it
on your system. The ebook is a large file. You can open it now by clicking on
AdvocacyTutorial.pdf, or if you prefer, you can download it for offline
viewing by right-clicking on
AdvocacyTutorial.pdf and picking the the "save target as..." option. If you would prefer to download a zipped version of the file, click here:
AdvocacyTutorial.zip
Mistakes People Make - Parents Because the stakes are high, it is hard for parents of children with special educational needs to advocate calmly and objectively for the educational and related services their children need. Don't shoot yourself in the foot! Read Mistakes People Make - Parents by parent attorney Bob Crabtree
Tactics &
Strategies: Power Struggles, Meetings, & Follow-up Letters
Are you feeling
powerless and frustrated? Parent advocate Pat Howey will teach you how to avoid
power struggles, deal with IEP meeting frustrations, use follow up letters to
get answers to questions - and how to use your power wisely.
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.
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.
How I Learned to Get Services by Asking Questions
Filing a
complaint with the AL State Dept of Education
Tips on Filing Complaints
Model Complaint Form
Actual Successful Complaint Filed by a Parent
Filing a
Section 504 Complaint
Parent Advocacy: Documents, Records and Paper Trails "If it was not written down, it was not said. If it was not written down, it did not happen." -- Pete Wright
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.
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. This article by Massachusetts attorney Bob Crabtree teaches you 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.
Advocacy 101: Documents, Records and Paper Trails Good records are essential to effective advocacy. You can use simple low-tech tools to record your contacts with the school: calendars, logs, journals. Learn how to keep a log of telephone calls, meetings, important conversations, and correspondence.