How do you know when you need a special education advocate? In Chapter 12 of Special Ed Mom Survival Guide, I emphasize the need to ask for help when you feel overwhelmed. Sometimes it takes an advocate to help you find your way out of the stress, especially when you are fighting with the school district. An advocate can be an excellent resource to help you navigate the challenges with the school and at home.
How will you know if she is the right Special Education Advocate?
A good advocate should be familiar with your district and have strategies they have used to get the district to change their mind. A great advocate will also help brainstorm ways to help your child get better support within the classroom and at home. Many have knowledge about tutors, special programs and therapies that can help your child improve beyond what the school can offer.
When hiring a special education advocate, it is important to identify what you need help with. You also need to research each advocate to make sure she has the expertise in the learning challenges your child is faced with. It is important to understand experience, but also how they work with the parent and how decisions are made. You want to find somebody who is a good fit personality-wise and whose schedule meshes with your own. Sometimes it’s hard to know what questions to ask to get the right information.
That is why I created this free printable with the 11 most important questions to ask when hiring a Special Education Advocate. It will give you a basic understanding of how the advocate works, and whether she is the right person to help you help your child.
I also included a form in the printable that allows you to write the advocate’s name and take notes as they answer the questions. This way in one conversation you will have a head start on deciding if this person is someone you would like to work with. You can print as many as you need since you will probably interview several advocates before making your choice.
I love creating printables, so let me know how this works for you!
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