What does it mean to be an advocate for your child? An advocate is someone who pleads the cause of another and who defends or maintains a cause or proposal. Being a parent advocate includes efforts to:

• Have all the needs of your child met;
  
  
• Keep current about the latest advances, technology, and research innovations regarding your child's disability, treatment and potential;
  
  
• Get the best care and services available for your child;
  
  
• Monitor all services, professionals, and programs offered;
  
  
• Create a team approach with those involved in your child's life and care;
  
  
• Have your child served in the least restrictive environment;
  
  
• Expose your child to as normal a lifestyle as possible;
  
  
• Assist your child in reaching his or her highest potential;
  
  
• Stimulate community concern and establish new services to fill in the gaps for your child's care; and
  
  
• Ensure lifelong support, nurturing, and habilitation of your child.

Resources

10 Conversations to Have at the Start of the Year - To make the most of the coming school year, talk to your child, your teacher, your doctor, other parents, your family—and yourself. Full article>

Advocating for Your Child - Getting Started - Good special education services are intensive and expensive. Resources are limited. If you have a child with special needs, you may wind up battling the school district for the services your child needs. To prevail, you need information, skills, and tools. Read more>

General Advocacy Tips- HTML or PDF*

Helping Your Middle-School Child Make the Transition to High School - Not so very long ago your child was entering middle school and was tied up in knots worrying about how he would find his way in the huge new school, if he would have any friends, and if the classes would be too tough. Now he’s facing high school, and guess what he’s worried about? The same things. Full article>

How to Have a Good Relationship with Your Child's Teacher - HTML

How Parents Can Be Advocates for Their Children - HTML or PDF*

Planning is the Key to Success - Can you imagine educating a child with a disability without a master plan? If you are like many parents, you are confused about your role. What do you need to learn? How can you ensure that the school provides your child with quality, appropriate special education services? Full article>

Questions to Ask Private Schools - You may have decided to place your child in a private school for any number of reasons. Whatever the reasons, you will likely discover that attending a private school is not a magic solution to your child’s learning challenges. Full article>