About six months ago a friend encouraged me to sign up for a class offered at our local library. The class is lead by a local advocacy group called the Parents Place of Maryland. The class meets once a month and goes through a book called From Emotions to Advocacy by Pam and Pete Wright. It is a class aimed at helping parents/guardians of special education students learn to be their child's best advocate (without allowing emotions to cloud their judgment or influence).
The class is free. I got the book for free (my husband's church's Special Needs Ministry purchased 10 copies to give out to participants). There is a lot of really good stuff in the book and the class.
But this was only the second time I had gone to class since it started last fall.
I have some very good reasons for not attending each month. I honestly did have other commitments and activities I needed to be at - including a Teaching and Learning Strategies Fair focused on Special Education last month. But I have no real good excuse for not reading the book, or doing the other "homework". I have the course syllabus. I do have spare time. I just feel overwhelmed and under-inspired.
Part of the "problem" is that the worst parts of the battle for special education are over (for now) for our family. My son is twice-exceptional and has made great strides in the past two years (since finally being diagnosed with Asperger's and receiving help from the school and beyond). He's now in middle school and doing well in honors classes. So I don't have that "mama bear" need to "fight" anymore. Things are going relatively smoothly, and most of the struggles we have now are the same struggles most parents of an adolescent have.
I think if I had taken this class three or four years ago things would have been very different. If I had had this class at the start of our battle to get my son tested and to get some appropriate accommodations in place, I would have stressed a great deal less. But I didn't. I learned many of the lessons this book talks about the hard way.
So why am I still going to the class? Because I know that next year could be very different. Because I know not all teachers and administrators are as good at following the law. Not all are as good at taking the time to know what works and what doesn't work for each student. Not all are good at communicating with the parent when they first detect a problem. So I need to be prepared. I need to make sure our son's file is up to date. I need to know my rights. I need to know how to work with my son's IEP committee as he continues his growth toward being a capable, independent adult. I need to be his mom, but I also need to be his best advocate - until he learns how to advocate for himself.
Also - I am involved in a couple of community organizations (including faith-based organizations) that focus on educational equity or special education. The skills I learn in this class will help me help others - and that's important if I want to live out my calling.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a "master document" to create, a file to double check, and a few chapters to read.
The class is free. I got the book for free (my husband's church's Special Needs Ministry purchased 10 copies to give out to participants). There is a lot of really good stuff in the book and the class.
But this was only the second time I had gone to class since it started last fall.
I have some very good reasons for not attending each month. I honestly did have other commitments and activities I needed to be at - including a Teaching and Learning Strategies Fair focused on Special Education last month. But I have no real good excuse for not reading the book, or doing the other "homework". I have the course syllabus. I do have spare time. I just feel overwhelmed and under-inspired.
Part of the "problem" is that the worst parts of the battle for special education are over (for now) for our family. My son is twice-exceptional and has made great strides in the past two years (since finally being diagnosed with Asperger's and receiving help from the school and beyond). He's now in middle school and doing well in honors classes. So I don't have that "mama bear" need to "fight" anymore. Things are going relatively smoothly, and most of the struggles we have now are the same struggles most parents of an adolescent have.
I think if I had taken this class three or four years ago things would have been very different. If I had had this class at the start of our battle to get my son tested and to get some appropriate accommodations in place, I would have stressed a great deal less. But I didn't. I learned many of the lessons this book talks about the hard way.
So why am I still going to the class? Because I know that next year could be very different. Because I know not all teachers and administrators are as good at following the law. Not all are as good at taking the time to know what works and what doesn't work for each student. Not all are good at communicating with the parent when they first detect a problem. So I need to be prepared. I need to make sure our son's file is up to date. I need to know my rights. I need to know how to work with my son's IEP committee as he continues his growth toward being a capable, independent adult. I need to be his mom, but I also need to be his best advocate - until he learns how to advocate for himself.
Also - I am involved in a couple of community organizations (including faith-based organizations) that focus on educational equity or special education. The skills I learn in this class will help me help others - and that's important if I want to live out my calling.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a "master document" to create, a file to double check, and a few chapters to read.
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