Posts Tagged disabilities
Advocating For Your Child – Start With Understanding Your Child’s Mind
To be an effective advocate for their children’s talents or disabilities, parents need to understand how their children’s minds work. The human mind is very complex and is a wonder of nature. Scientists who study the brain are making new discoveries every day that help us understand how the mind influences behavior. As a parent, you see your children’s behavior and naturally draw conclusions and label it. If a child is good in science, you say she is smart or gifted. If a child forgets to do his chores, you say he is a procrastinator. You are not alone in labeling your children; other adults such as teachers, coaches, and friends label them every day.
Labeling a child can seem appropriate at the time because you are trying to put into words what you see. However, you really do not know what is actually happening in your children’s minds that contribute to the behavior. So you do your best to generalize and label them based on your limited knowledge.
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Parents As Child Advocates – How to Become a Strong Advocate For Your Children
One afternoon your daughter comes home from her third grade class and gives you a note from her teacher requesting a conference. You immediately feel blood rush to your head as you ask your daughter if she did anything wrong. When you talk to the teacher over the phone, you get a friendly reception and the assurance that the conference is about something positive. While sitting in a tiny school room chair the next day, you learn from the teacher that your daughter shows advanced ability in math and you discuss how her talent can be developed.
Back at home, your mind starts planning next steps but you quickly run into a roadblock. Your daughter tells you that she does not want other kids to know she is good at math because they might not like her if she appears too smart. You scratch your head wondering what just happened and how you should react. This is the complex world of parents being advocates for their children’s unique talents or disabilities. Similar stories come from families with children who have learning disabilities or behavior problems. Parent advocacy can be more challenging when a child has an inefficiency in learning or behavior that requires other adults to be more sensitive, understanding and adaptive as instructors. Parents must assure that other adults and institutions provide the support their children need to be successful.
Tags: advocacy, advocate, advocates, business, child advocate, child advocates, children, disabilities, disability, education, learning disabilities, mediate, money, parent, parents, schoolRelated posts
Qualities to Avoid in Choosing a Special Education Advocate
Are you the parent of a child with autism or other disability that is considering finding an advocate to help you with your child’s education? Would you like a short list of qualities to avoid when choosing a special education advocate?
This article will help you avoid certain negative qualities in a prospective advocate, so that you can help your child receive a free appropriate public education.
Tags: advocacy, advocate, advocates, autism, children, disabilities, disability, education, parent, parents, public education, school, special education, special education law, training, workingRelated posts