Recently, a parent described to me her first IEP meeting. She had been worried about her two-year-old son for several months, and after bringing it up to her pediatrician several times she was finally able to have him evaluated. In the weeks leading up to the IEP meeting, she had started noticing a serious regression in her son’s abilities. Walking into the meeting, she felt very unlike herself: nervous, disorganized, and unprepared. During the course of the IEP meeting, the IEP team discussed her son’s case, asking her questions along the way. She was worried about some of the questions, uncertain if her answers were helping her son receive more services or making her son sound like he was doing better than he actually was. When the IEP team made their recommendation for 5 hours of in-home Special Education services for her child, she jumped at the chance to receive any help. It wasn’t until later, after the nervousness wore off and she learned more about her rights, that she started to feel these services weren’t appropriate for her son.
Does any of this sound familiar? For many parents, learning about the special education system in our public schools is a trial by fire. At the same time, parents expect that the teachers and school representatives are the best advocates for their children and push the responsibility of advocacy onto them. In From Emotions to Advocacy, Pam Wright and Pete Wright explain that the best advocate for any child is that child’s parent(s).
From Emotions to Advocacy gives parents a comprehensive look at everything they need to know and be prepared for in order to be the best advocate possible. Not only does it explain complex laws, assessments, and processes in an easy to understand manner, it also gives clear step-by-step directions on how to create a plan for your child. Then it takes it a step further, including informative tips about taking care of yourself and other family members during this stressful process, sample letters to school representatives, an explanation of bell curves and how they are used by schools, and a comprehensive glossary of special education terms.
In the introduction, the authors write: “In the beginning the process of advocating for your special needs child will feel overwhelming. This is normal. If you follow this program, you will learn how to organize, plan, and use your emotions to become an effective advocate for your child. You will not regret your journey from emotions to advocacy.” The authors go above and beyond on fulfilling this promise.
While this book is exceptionally helpful for parents who are encountering special education for the first time, as your child’s needs grow and change From Emotions to Advocacy is a resource you can come back to again and again.
*This article originally appeared on www.therapeuticresource.com
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