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How to advocate for you child with special needs: A Video Clip

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How to advocate for you child with special needs: A Video Clip

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St Vincents Special Needs Center Parents

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Being a Parent Advocate for Your Special Needs Child - Part 1

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Listen to the full episode at http://JeffYalden.com/Radio Jeff Yalden Radio Show episode with guest parent advocate Gail Fidelity. Tips and resources for parents of special needs children n how you can become an advocate for your child.

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Family TIES of Nevada is dedicated to providing culturally competent support, information, and assistance to achieve family-centered care for individuals with disabilities or special health care needs through family, community and professional partnerships.

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How Nevada PEP Helps:

Nevada PEP is a nonprofit organization that provides information, services and training to Nevada families of children with disabilities.

Visit their website for more information:

http://www.nvpep.org/

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1. Get a comprehensive evaluation. Child psychiatric disorders are complex and at times confusing. A full assessment often involves several visits. Effective treatment depends on a careful and accurate diagnosis.

2. Insist on the best. Talk to physicians, therapists, guidance counselors and other parents. Find out who in your community has the most experience and expertise in evaluating and treating your child’s particular condition. Check the clinician’s credentials carefully. Are they appropriately licensed or certified in your state? If he or she is a physician, are they “Board Certified”? Push schools, insurance companies and state agencies to provide the most appropriate and best possible services, not merely services that are deemed sufficient or adequate.

3. Ask lots of questions about any diagnosis or proposed treatment. Encourage your child to ask any questions he or she may have, as well. Remember that no one has all the answers, and that there are few simple solutions for complex child psychiatric disorders.In addition, all treatments have both risks and benefits. Make sure you and your child understand the full range of treatment options available so you can make a truly informed decision.

4. Insist on care that is “family centered” and builds on your child’s strengths. Ask about specific goals and objectives. How will you know if treatment is helping? If your child’s problems persist or worsen, what options and alternatives are available?

5. Ask about comprehensive “wrap around” or individualized services, geared specifically to the needs of your child and family. Are such services available in your state or community? If not, why not?

6. Be prepared. One of the most important things you can do to help your child is to keep all information, including past consultation and treatment reports, in an organized place. Insist on receiving your own copies of all evaluations. Records can easily be misplaced, delayed or even destroyed. Maintaining your own file with all relevant information can help avoid unnecessary duplication of previous treatment efforts.

7. Feel free to seek a second opinion. Any responsible mental health professional will be glad to help with referrals or by sharing information. If you have questions about your child’s diagnosis or the proposed course of treatment, by all means, arrange an independent consultation with another clinician.

8. Help your child learn about their condition. Use books, pamphlets and the Internet. Make sure the information is age appropriate. Answer questions with honest, accurate and consistent information, but don’t overload children with more detail than they want or need.

9. Know the details of your insurance policy, and learn about the laws governing insurance in your state.For example, in some states, insurance companies must provide access to a specialist, such as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, within a certain distance from your home. If no such specialist is available as part of the company’s “network,” you may be able to receive treatment from a provider of your choice, with the insurance company responsible for full payment.

10. Work with the schools.Insist on access to appropriate mental health consultation services. You can also suggest inservice training programs to enhance awareness about child psychiatric disorders. Request copies of your child’s educational records, including the results of any formal testing or other evaluations. Ask to be included in any and all school meetings held to discuss your child.

11. Learn about the reimbursement and funding systems in your state. The more you know, the better you can advocate on behalf of your child. How does Medicaid work? Which services are covered and which are excluded? Is there a Medicaid “waiver program” which allows increased flexibility based on the specific needs of children and families? Is your child eligible? If not, why not? What other sources of funding are potentially available?

12. If necessary, use a lawyer. Learn about the local legal resources.Find out which lawyers in your community are familiar with educational and mental health issues.Talk to your local Protection and Advocacy agency or American Civil Liberties Union for suggestions. Call the State Bar Association. Talk to other parents who are lawyers or who have used lawyers. Consider a legal consultation to make sure you are pursuing all appropriate avenues and options regarding services for your child.

Statewide advocacy for all children, including your own:

1. Become politically active. Meet with state senators and representatives. Question candidates about their positions on access to necessary and appropriate mental health services for children and families. Testify at hearings on state legislation and budgets. Legislators are more likely to be influenced and persuaded by personal stories than by data, statistics or the opinions of professionals.

2. Get to know the state insurance commissioner and healthcare “ombudsperson” or consumer representative. Ask them to attend regular meetings with parent groups. Let them know about your experiences.

3. Build coalitions and work with local advocacy and parent organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) and the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. Develop and publicize a common “Agenda for Children’s Mental Health”.

4. Teach children about advocacy. Invite them to become involved in advocacy activities, where appropriate, but don’t force them to participate.

5. Develop a legislative strategy. If your state does not yet have parity legislation, put this at the top of the agenda. Other “family protection” initiatives include: access to an independent panel to review and potentially reverse insurance company denials, consumer representation on community mental health center boards, adequate network provisions, which mandate timely and appropriate access to specialists, adequate funding for school and community-based mental health services and intragency collaboration for children who are involved with more than one system (i.e. child welfare, mental health, education and juvenile justice).

6. Seek bipartisan support. Mental illness affects families of all political persuasions. Building a broad base of support has been a key to successful legislative initiatives, both at the State and Federal levels.

7. Fight stigma. Develop an ongoing local education campaign that reiterates the key messages: child pyschiatric disorders are very real illnesses, they affect lots of children & adolescents, fortunately, they are also treatable, especially if treatment begins early and is individualized to the needs of each child and family.

8. Become involved with medical education. Meet with local medical students and residents. Sensitize them to the issues and challenges families face when caring for a child with emotional and behavioral problems.

9. Use the media. Write letters to the editor and/or op-ed pieces on child mental health issues. Meet with local reporters covering health care topics. Suggest story ideas to local TV stations.

10. Work with local professional organizations. Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and mental health counselors are natural allies with a common advocacy agenda. Coordinate efforts on issues such as parity, funding for mental health services, managed care oversight, etc. Professional organizations may also have access to resources, including funds for lobbying and/or public education initiatives, from their national associations.

11. Talk to other parents. Seek out and join local parent support groups. If none exist, consider starting one. Develop an email “listserv” to facilitate communication. Circulate articles, information and suggestions about local resources.

12. Attend regional and national conferences of parent and advocacy organizations. Such meetings provide information, ideas, camaraderie and support. Sharing experiences with other parents is both helpful and empowering.

13. Don’t give up.Aim for and celebrate incremental victories and accomplishments. Remember, advocacy is an ongoing process!

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Advocating for your child...what does it mean?

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Advocating for your child...what does it mean?

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Support can come in many different forms. We receive support form family and friends. We can receive support from our child's school and teachers. But did you know that you can also receive additional support from outside agencies willing to help you understand everything you may need to know to support your child and his or her speech and language goals or another disability your child may have?

Sometimes it can get overwhelming. You may be confused by your child's IEP goals or have ideas you want to share but don't know how or have difficulty talking with your child's school about them. You may need help expressing your ideas to your child's school. Advocating means to speak on behalf of your child and what you feel is best for them. Advocating for your child can help you and your child's school make the best decision for your child's educational goals. Advocating for your child can help with many decisions from developing IEP goals to making accommodations or modifications to your child's IEP.

Many parents may choose to seek support from organizations outside their child's school to help advocate and know what is best for their child. Most of the service providers in these agencies have a child with a disability so they can understand and have been through many of the processes you will be going through. They can relate to you and have experience working with schools.

When thinking about collaboration, advocating for your child is a big part in the decision making process! Below you will find resources on how to advocate for your child as well as resources for agencies that can help you advocate for your child or provide an advocate for your child

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1. Identifying a Speech and/or Language Disorder

2. Collaboration between home and school

3. Advocating for your child

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Identifying a Speech and/or Language Disorder

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Identifying a Speech and/or Language Disorder

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Family Centered Collaboration Video Clip:

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Family Centered Collaboration Video Clip:

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Inclusive schools welcome and embrace positive, collaborative relationships between school staff and parents in support of providing the best learning environment for a diverse population of children. In this video you will see examples of inclusive school settings that model approaches that reflect understanding, support and collaboration with all parents, including parents of children with disabilities. - See more at: http://inclusiveeducationpdresources.com/collaborating-with-parents/videos.php?id=8#sthash.FAtv1BRX.dpuf

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Collaborating with Parents | Engaging All Learners

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Active listening is a skill that teachers use to help establish meaningful relationships with parents. Strong collaborative relationships are important so that teachers and parents can work effectively together to ensure students are supported and successful learners.

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The Power of Parent Involvement: Evidence, Ideas, and Tools for Student Success

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The Power of Parent Involvement: Evidence, Ideas, and Tools for Student Success

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This article is research based and has evidence to support the power of parental involvement. Ideas and tools for your child's success in school are presented.

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Tip List for Parents...What you can you to support your child's language development at home in the absence of a structured day. 

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Tip List for Parents...What you can you to support your child's language development at home in the absence of a structured day. 

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1. Pay attention to body language, when a child is looking toward or reaching for something, they are communicating. Talk about what they are reaching for, “Oh, you want the bubbles!”

2. Avoid the “say this” tendency. Don’t pressure the child to speak; keeping the experience positive is important. Instead, model what the child might say when he/she is ready.

3. Take time to sit and read with your child every day. Label everything you see, and encourage them to point to the words and pictures as you talk about them. Books with repetitive lines are great.

4. Be playful. Sing songs. Use lots of inflection. With familiar songs, leave some of the words out and see if your child will hum or sing the words.

5. Provide limited choices when you aren’t sure what your child wants. Holding out 2 items, lessens the stress of having too many choices.

6. Talk with your child about what you are doing, then provide the opportunity for your child to reciprocate. “I’m making some cookies, do you want to help?”

7. Use first/then language to guide behavior, and then be consistent, “First you need to eat, then you can read.” Use this language even when moving between activities that are preferred or less preferred.

8. Use pictures: Take pictures of your child’s day and talk about what is coming up next, or make a photo album of fun activities (vacation, going out for ice cream) to talk about.

9. Remember language is everywhere, even if you child doesn’t understand everything you are saying, he or she needs the exposure. Car rides, walks outside, blowing bubbles are just a few examples. Describe what you see, and ask questions, e.g, “I see a cow. What does a cow say?”

10. Simplify your props. Sometimes the simplest toys can bring out the best language. Summer is full of such opportunities: A spinning toy, taking a turn kicking a ball, bubbles…all can support your child’s development, simply by talking to them.

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What are common misconceptions that hinder the collaboration process? 

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What are common misconceptions that hinder the collaboration process? 

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In this article you will learn how "judgement" and "dumping" can hinder effective collaboration and communication between you and your child's teachers. Read about how to build a "dream team" to benefit your child and his or her goals and education rather that keeping to yourself and feeling frustrated!

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Ineffective communication between parents and teachers can be a major obstacle when trying to solve problems with students, but fortunately it can be improved. Let's first examine the two major causes of communication dysfunction.

Problem 1: Judgment

Teachers judge the parents of their students all the time. They judge them based on students' language, hygiene, dress and social skills. Parents judge teachers, too, based on comments from their children. "What did you learn in school today?" is usually followed by, "Nothing." Sometimes children accuse teachers of being unfair, picking on them, being prejudiced or a myriad of other questionable treatments.

So parents and teachers judge each other constantly, and the sources of their judgments are kids, often with a vested interest. Good kids want their parents and teachers to like each other. Troubled students want the opposite. Many children can, in their eyes, benefit from animosity between parents and teachers; and they play one against the other. This is a dysfunctional form of communication.

Problem 2: "Dumping"

The second problem is called "dumping." When ineffective, frustrated or angry teachers call parents about their child, they tend to "dump" the problem in the parents' lap. They tell what offense the child committed, and state that the parent must do something about it. This is no more effective than a parent calling a teacher about a problem at home and asking the teacher to fix it. Parents dumping on teachers is also common. They claim the teacher is responsible for a child's bad grades, bad behavior or bad attitude. They demand that the teacher must change. Parent dumping is growing, reaching dangerously high levels with less respect and belief in the professionalism of the teacher. When parents and teachers blame each other and make unreasonable demands, the one who suffers the most is the child. Blame creates no winners and lots of losers.

A Shared Goal

Parents and teachers have the same goal, and therein lies the remedy for these problems. Both want the best for the student. Removing the child from parent/teacher communication process can alleviate much of the communication dysfunction. I don't mean that children should be left out totally. There is certainly an important place for the child to be part of the process. But there is also a place for teachers and parents to build a relationship of their own. Both need to talk directly to each other.

How Teachers Can Help: The Three-Call Method

As early in the year as possible, teachers need to call as many parents on the phone as possible, hopefully all of them if their load is small enough. The purpose of the call is to welcome the parent into the learning community and to establish a positive communication line.

Here's an example of the type of call I suggest. "Hello, Mr. Curwin. I'm David's teacher. I just want you to know how happy I am to have David in my classroom this year, and to let you know that if any problems should occur, I'd be happy to talk with you so we can work together to make things better." The second call is to tell the parent something good the child has done. Stay away from superficials like dress and focus on behavior, improvement and quality of work. Only after these calls have been made should the teacher call about a problem; not before. In this way, parents and teachers have already established a trusting, workable relationship that significantly diminishes blaming.

How Parents Can Help: Communicate Proactively

Parents, too, can help communication. They can inform teachers of things happening at home that might affect student behavior; a pending divorce, serious illness, birth of a new baby, a change or addition of a medication, or a parent on an extended trip abroad are all examples of things that can help teachers. Children who strongly object to going to school, hate a certain subject, are being bullied or have too much homework are other helpful things to discuss with teachers.

Become a Team

Finally, stop dumping and blaming on both sides. These tactics help no one, make the other party defensive and prevents finding possible solutions. Say things like, "Since we both care so much about David, let's work together to find a way to improve things." Become a team, not adversaries. Share your perceptions honestly. Tell the other what works at home or in class and what doesn't. Work out a plan of action to try, and be flexible enough to change it if it doesn't help. Deflect accusations by not taking them personally. It's better to say, "I understand why you might feel that way, but what we really need to do is find some solutions that we both can agree to. I'd like to hear your ideas," than to say, "That's not true, and your son is not being truthful. I've never done that."

Setting up effective communication and forming a team are very powerful tools in helping children be successful in school. Children spend most of their time at home and in school. When teachers and parents are allies and teammates, their combined influence on children is very powerful indeed.

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Parents and Teachers: The Possibility of a Dream Team | Edutopia

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Ineffective communication between parents and teachers can be a major obstacle when trying to solve problems with students, but fortunately it can be improved. Let's first examine the two major causes of communication dysfunction. Teachers judge the parents of their students all the time. They judge them based on students' language, hygiene, dress and social skills.

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This website provides helpful information on how

to form partnerships between home and school.

Learn how to make a smooth transition to school,how to be

consistent between home and school, and where to turn if you

have concerns.

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Whether you are a parent or a teacher, your goal throughout the individualized education program (IEP) process should always be to help your student reach his or her potential. Since parents and teachers are arguably the most important adults in a child's life, they are best suited to help that child prepare for and face challenges and new experiences. They are also uniquely positioned to model teamwork and compromise for a student by working together in a positive way to solve disputes.

Learning At Home and At School

Whether your child is new to special education or has been receiving services for years, transitioning to an unfamiliar environment can be frightening. By keeping lines of communication open and working together, parents and teachers can ease a student's anxiety about a transition and ensure that a child is always learning. In Making a Smooth Transition to School, parents and teachers are given practical advice to help ease a student into a new classroom, school or program. Parents and teachers will find helpful tips on how they can prepare the student ahead of time and solidify routines before that crucial first day of school.

Additionally, an important goal of the IEP process is to create students who are continual, lifelong learners. In Consistency Between the Classroom and Home, parents and teachers will find specific ways that they can encourage students to continue learning at home. Since parents are uniquely positioned to help students apply the skills they've learned, they are encouraged to work on their children's IEP goals outside of the classroom. In addition, teachers will find specific tasks that they can ask parents to complete at home with their children to support these goals and the overall academic progress.

Open Communication is Key

When the lines of communication are kept open, the parent-teacher relationship should remain a positive one. What happens when something goes wrong, though? In Where to Turn When You Have Concerns parents will find a list of important IEP team members who can answer questions or help to address concerns. In addition, this article will help parents understand the authority and the limitations of each team member so that parents can approach these team members with realistic expectations and goals. This section also encourages parents to go through the appropriate team members before considering any legal action.

Unfortunately, even the most well-meaning parents and teachers sometimes disagree. In Strategies for IEP Dispute and Conflict Resolution, parents will discover how conflict resolution is built into the IEP process. Parents and teachers will also find IEP-specific guidelines that will help make the process easier and reduce the likelihood that a conflict will escalate. And, both parents and teachers are reminded that the IEP process should be child-centered, and that all team members should work collaboratively to create a plan that best suits the needs of the child.

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Whether you are a parent or a teacher, your goal throughout the individualized education program (IEP) process should always be to help your student reach his or her potential. Since parents and teachers are arguably the most important adults in a child's life, they are best suited to help that child prepare for and face challenges and new experiences.

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Antonyms...

disunion, separation, non cooperation, working alone, separation...

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Synonyms....

Participation, partnership, teamwork,

alliance, joint effort, working together

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col·lab·o·ra·tion

The action of working with someone to produce or create something.

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In an effort to support your child and his or her educational goals collaboration between teachers and parents

is critical. Parents are encouraged to join in on the decision making process. As parents, you know your child best and your insight

and ideas are to be valued. Please find some helpful information below on the meaning of collaboration and information on how to collaborate with your child's school and teachers.

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Speech and Language Checklists for parents

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Speech and Language Checklists for parents

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Parent Checklists:

Speech-Language (Preschool)

Fluency/Stuttering

Voice

Visit the following website to access the parent surveys that will be helpful in identifying speech and language disorders:

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You are not a member of this wiki. Join now Dismiss

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The following websites offer good information on identifying a speech or language disorder, knowing the signs of a speech or language disorder, and differentiating between types of disorders.

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/speech.htm

http://identifythesigns.org/the-signs/

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Identifying Speech and Language Disorders

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Identifying Speech and Language Disorders

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This is a 10 minute video that will give a good overview on identifying speech and language disorders.

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The content you're looking for is no longer available.

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When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder. Difficulties pronouncing sounds, or articulation disorders, and stuttering are examples of speech disorders.

When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder. A stroke can result in aphasia, or a language disorder.

Both children and adults can have speech and language disorders. They can occur as a result of a medical problem or have no known cause.
- See more at: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/#sthash.fltCdsVN.dpuf

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As you view the collaboration toolkit you will see that the information on this wall is presented in the following order: topic of discussion followed by additional information related to the topic such as pictures,video links, articles, supplemental documents or forms, and links to resources.

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My name is Nicole Perrin and I am aspiring to be a Speech Language Pathologist. In my vision to do that, I have created a collaboration toolkit as a resource to be used by parents. As a professional service provider working with children with speech and language disorders it is important to me to be able to collaborate with the families I work with by providing information and resources to assist you with everything from knowledge of a speech and language disorder to tools and resources you can use to help support your child and participate in the collaboration between home and school. I hope you will find the following resources and information helpful to you when working with your school and your child!