Parental+Advocacy

INTRODUCTION:
 * __PARENTAL ADVOCACY__**

This section of the wiki focuses upon you, the parent. As your child grows and progresses through the school system you will need to be prepared to support your child's needs and know what your rights as a parent are. These resources should provide you with the information that you need to advocate for the services that your child requires from your care providers. Through avocation and work with your child's caregivers, medical support professionals and therapists you can ensure that your child has the smoothest transition possible in to a school system where they will be allowed to grow and succeed to their fullest potential.


 * __RESOURCE 1:__** []

This webpage focuses upon the potential steps that can be taken to accommodate your child. Following evaluation by a specialist such as a neuropsychologist they can recommend certain services for your child. This webpage lists some potential services that are available to children with Individual Family Service Plans whose children are attending the school system. Some examples from the website included a lifting of the time limit on tests, allowing your child to retain a set of classroom books at your home so they can revisit the information there as well as at school, and providing supportive technology. If fine motor writing is an obstacle for your child your child's neuropsychologist may suggest that you pursue the use of a computer for taking class notes. Overall this is a good resource for potential services that the IFSP may provide to your child.


 * __Resource 2:__** []

This website provides tips for parents as they prepare to attend a team meeting. It is in a format that is highly readable, constructed as a fact sheet, it would be very easy for parents to print out the sheet and take it with them to a meeting. On this website you can find information about how to address a grievance if the IEP team meeting cannot meet your child needs or refuses to accommodate your child by providing services that your child is entitled to. These steps provide information up to and including a due process hearing.


 * __Resource 3:__** []

This website provides information to parents of infants with developmental delays. It suggests some steps to take if you notice that your child is not reaching the benchmarks of normative development especially when related to Autism Spectrum Disorders. First and foremost is to get your child screened for developmental delays by a physician. This will all your child to receive any specialized services that they may require, including visits with a speech pathologist, orthopedic therapists, physical therapists and other specialists.


 * __Resource 4:__** []

This website provides information for parents whose children are attending school/preschool with seizures. Some of the key pointers that it stresses include communication with the school. This is especially important. In some cases schools may not have had experience with your child's type of epilepsy. They may assume that the word "seizure" only refers to the stereotyped tonic clonic form of seizure, forgetting about absence seizures and petite mal seizures. These seizure disorders are not as life threatening and are oftentimes easier to deal with. Talking to your school's support professionals is critical to make sure that your child receives the care he / or she deserves and requires. Sometimes you may even need to advocate minimizing the services that your child receives.


 * __Resource 5:__** []

This website provides further information about preparing for an IEP meeting. One thing that especially encouraging about this site is that it provides reassurance for parents of children who speak a primary language other than English. The laws regarding special services testing require that whenever possible the tests must be administered in the child's native tongue enabling maximum understanding and comprehension reducing the impact of that variable upon the child's success rate.