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Obstacles to Successful Advocacy
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"Nothing
in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious
stupidity." -- Martin Luther King
As your child’s advocate, you will negotiate with your
school district. When you negotiate, you will encounter obstacles. If
you recognize obstacles, you can take steps to prevent problems.
School obstacles include myths, lack of accurate information, and school
culture.
Parent obstacles are isolation, lack of accurate information, personal
school history, and emotions.
School Obstacles
The mission of public schools is to provide students with a standardized education. By definition, standardized educational programs are not individualized - standardized programs are not designed to meet the unique needs of the child with a disability.
School Culture
School culture includes the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of people who work in schools – educators, school psychologists, administrators, and other personnel.
School
culture often acts is an invisible wall and prevents parents and school
staff from working together. When you advocate for your child, you need
to understand the power of school culture.
Several years ago, a psychologist named Dr. Galen Alessi
studied school culture, and found that school psychologists do
not report "school factors" when children have school problems.
Recently, researchers studied the attitudes
of principals toward children who had school problems. What did
these principals recommend to help these children? Retention and /or referral
to special education!
School culture is not unique to you, your
child, your school, your school district, your state, or region. Although
school culture feels personal, in most cases, it is not personal!
Beliefs,
Perceptions, & Attitudes
Beliefs affect the decisions we make and
the actions we take.
While beliefs may not be expressed openly, they have an enormous impact
on relations between parents and school personnel, and influence how decisions
are made for children with disabilities.
Parent Obstacles
If you are like most parents, your obstacles
include isolation, lack of accurate information, your personal history,
and your
emotions.
Your
Emotions
As a parent, your emotions may be your Achilles Heel. To be an effective advocate, you must control your emotions and use them as a source of energy.
We
recommend that you to join
a parent support group.
When you take this step, you will begin to deal with your obstacles related
to isolation and lack of information -- and you will get emotional support.
Your Personal Experiences
Many parents feel anxious and intimidated at school meetings. Your personal school experiences will affect your feelings about schools, teachers, and school meetings.
Common Emotional Traps
When you advocate for your child, you need to be aware of common emotional traps and pitfalls:
-
Self pity. If you find yourself asking, “Why does it have to be so hard?” or “Why can’t things be different?” you are falling into the self-pity trap.
-
Resistance. If you use passive aggressive behavior to defeat them, you also defeat yourself.
-
Temper tantrum. If you blow up, you prove that they were right about you!
-
Quitting. OK, you quit. Now what?
Read more articles from Advocacy 101
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