School Counselors
In getting the most out of an education for people with special needs, it is helpful to be in contact with the school counselor, as the school counselor can be a strong advocate for him or her both from a behavioral/social perspective as well as a point of connection for parents to be in contact with teachers or the principal. For parents with children entering school-age, this article from Reading Rockets can provide important insights into challenges that may arise, or address concerns you may have already thought of. In addition to being a reminder that you are not alone in having concerns as parents of students with disabilities, this article is applicable to teachers and parents of students without disabilities alike. Do not be afraid to share your concerns with them!
The Law
The law is also in place to help us advocate for our child’s education. Wrightslaw is a useful site for understanding special-education laws, and we suggest you explore the site’s very comprehensive advocacy and law libraries. We strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education), a provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For some background, read this page from the Center for Parent Information & Resources. Additionally, visit PA Law Help for additional links, articles, and resources for advocating for your child’s education in Pennsylvania. Finally, consider joining the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), a peer-to-peer network that advocates for students with disabilities. On their site, you can find information regarding discussion boards and a helpful resource list. Special education laws are in place to ensure that students with disabilities receive a minimum standard of opportunities to succeed in school. Parents need to work with schools to ensure that these standards are being met.
Parents
Frequent and honest communication between parents and the school is important for a child with a disability/disabilities to reach their potential in school and after school. It comes as no surprise that parents are strong advocates in their child’s educational development, but how can parents be the most effective advocate they can be? In essence, it is about knowing which organizations to leverage for help and having the background knowledge in special education topics to be confident in decision-making during things like IEP team meetings. This is not easy, as there is a lot of information out there to distill down. Consider the article The Important Role of Parents in Special Education from Verywell Family. Aside from this article, Verywell Family has countless other articles written by industry experts on special education, which you can browse here. This site can be daunting, as there are so many great articles, so do not overwhelm yourself by trying to read too much at one time. Slowly making your way through those articles in conjunction with utilizing the additional resources we provided in the Educational Development & Advocacy page will put you in prime position to be an effective advocate for your loved one.
