What is an Advocate and Why Do I Need One?
What is an advocate and why do I need one?
A Special Education or Parent Advocate is someone who is knowledgeable about the intricacies of Special Education and how to best support families in their Special Education journey.
Special Education comes with a whole new world of considerations. There’s jargon and acronyms, and sometimes something that means one thing in normal conversational language means something rather different in the Special Education world. There’s so much paperwork, you could probably wallpaper your house with it. Filtering through all of it can become overwhelming. Knowing your rights and how they apply to your child in the school setting can be confusing.
Add on top of all this, receiving a diagnosis or watching your child struggle can be a very emotional experience. It’s your child, it’s your job to be emotional about them.
But- when we become emotional our brains don’t hold on to information as well. All those confusing things become more confusing. We forget what questions we wanted to ask and may have a harder time speaking up about concerns.
So while you are fulfilling your job as the parent, an advocate can come in and do their job of making sure you understand the information being presented to you. They can make sure you understand your rights and options and the school understands your concerns and questions.
As a third party observer, an advocate can assess the situation from an objective perspective and help all parties involved find solutions and come to an agreement on how to best serve your child.
When should you seek out an advocate?
Short answer, it’s always the right time to seek out an advocate!
But more specifically, if you are concerned that your child may have a disability and don’t know where to start, ask an advocate.
If you have recently received a diagnosis and are not sure what your next steps need to be or feel overwhelmed by those next steps, find an advocate.
If you’ve started the process but now something feels confusing or off, talk to an advocate.
If you are getting the run around from the school or do not feel that your child is being served appropriately, definitely get an advocate involved.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Is this legal?” your next call should most certainly be to an advocate. While not lawyers, advocates are well versed in your rights and state and federal laws surrounding Special Education and disabilities and can advise on how to proceed with making sure your rights are being honored and hopefully avoid the need to get a lawyer.
If you feel like you could benefit from the help of an advocate and live in Arizona then I would love to help you. Click here to schedule an appointment with Stephanie at SPARC- Special Education Advocacy and Resource Consultant.
