Advocating For Your Child Who Is Having Trouble Learning
By Sharman W. Dennis
Guest Columnist
THE SOJOURNER'S TRUTH
I am an educator.
When I began my quest to become an educator I was in high school and had volunteered at a facility that served children with special needs. That experience led me to pursue a degree in elementary education. I was going to teach elementary education but eventually zeroed in on those children who were developing differently. That pursuit led me to the best degree I could ever have obtained, a degree in special education.
This degree was and is still special to me because I was in a program that focused on teaching children not labels. I was taught to look at the child and observe his/her strengths and needs. Parents and teachers – but parents in particular – need to know that the field of special education is a very useful one if the teachers with degrees in special education are trained properly. By properly I mean that the teacher should be teaching children by focusing on their strengths first and by how to strengthen their needs second.
The teachers should also be teaching students who are diagnosed with a disability – developmental, educational or social/emotional needs. Again, they should not teach to a label. All too often I hear teachers say “I am working with LD kids.” Kids are kids first.
So as a parent what should you expect if your child is in need of special education services? First you want to know from the regular classroom teacher and from those who evaluate your child exactly what the problems are that interfere with his/her learning. You also want to know the things your child does well. Often teachers focus on the needs without any knowledge of the strengths of the student or how to channel those strengths to help the student’s needs.
You also want to make sure that no meetings or evaluations of your child have occurred without your consent and, if meetings or evaluations have occurred, you want to make sure the school followed established policy or law.
You want the information about your child to be presented in a manner that you can understand. The information should be understandable whether you have a GED or a Ph.D. in engineering. You should never sign anything at any meeting pertaining to your child’s needs unless you fully understand all of the material presented. You can always ask for a copy of the information to review and sign at a later date.
As an educational advocate I suggest that, if you have any concerns about such a meeting, you have an advocate attend with you. When choosing an advocate look for one who has knowledge related to education and who knows the law – not just the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act) 2004 – but other pieces of legislation as well that may help improve your child’s developmental, emotional, educational and social development.
A good advocate will provide you, the parent, with information and will support you in the meeting, but will not speak for you. An appropriate advocate remembers that you are the parent and that he or she is supportive of your role.
Remember special education services can be as therapeutic as they should be but you as the parent have to know what to expect.
