Ask The Advocates e-book will get you through a number of the obstacles on your way to helping your child overcome his or her learning challenges.
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The difference between our son’s first and second initial special education eligibility meetings was like night and day. At the first meeting, it was as if we walked into a time warp and had no idea what was going to happen. My gut feeling was that what they were saying about our child didn’t totally make sense. We had no idea what the testing meant or what had to be done to help him. They kept telling us what we should do and insisting that we sign even though we had no idea what we were signing, and we didn’t understand about his ability and his disability. I did some research on the internet, but I just couldn’t learn it fast enough. It was a whole new field of study! …
We still bring her with us to meetings although we now feel like valued members of our son’s team; she can talk that same language the school folks do and gets things we (and sometimes the staff) hadn’t even thought of into place. She helps to make sure everyone – teachers, tutors, therapists – and everything is coordinated. If snags occur, she knows who to call and gets a plan into action. Had we not found this wonderful advocate, no doubt our son would still not be able to read or do math. She is truly a godsend.
Pros: worth the investment
Cons: none
Would you recommend it to a friend? yes
The advocate, Bev Jones, shared a ton of information, plus gave me a step-by-step plan of things to do to get the school district to listen, provide evaluations, and then give my son help. I decided to go to the meeting by myself to get the testing results. But I felt lost and outnumbered, and walked out crying. I called Bev again, and she suggested that I request another meeting; she would join by phone.
At the third meeting, which Bev attended by videoconference, we requested Extended School Year (ESY) therapy services. The district administrator stated that ESY was not a service that was provided in California. Bev politely read from the federal rulings regarding ESY and mentioned that any public school district nationwide that receives federal funds is subject to these rules. The administrator grew quite upset and stopped the meeting, saying that I would be notified of their decision later on. Bev told me not to worry and a week later, I received a call ― all the services were granted for the school year and the extended school year!
Since that time, I have learned much about being a good advocate for my child. Nonetheless, I have always had Bev attend the annual IEP meetings, either via teleconference or video conference.
My son is now in second grade and is doing grade level work with lots of help and services…thanks to an advocate!
Pros: great resource
Cons: none
Would you recommend it to a friend? yes