What Does it Take to Be an Effective Advocate?
 
Most advocates become advocates not because they feel they have natural
talents that would make them a good advocate, but because they are
"drafted".
When your child, your student, or someone you care about is not being
treated fairly you simply can't look the other way
-- SOMEONE has to be their voice.
If you are one of these "drafted" advocates, don't despair. You can
still be an extremely effective advocate. Let's take
a quick look at the key ingredients to effective advocacy:
1. Focus on the Individual with Special Needs
An effective advocate is focused on what is truly important, the
individual you are advocating for. It's not about "winning"
the power struggle, it's not about "showing off" all the laws you've
learned, and it's not about "punishing" the people you feel have let you
or your child down. Are you focused on the needs of the person you're
advocating for? Do you understand things like:
2. A Constant Desire to Learn
An effective advocate understands that more is being learned all the time
in the field of special needs. New types of technology are constantly
being developed, new learning
strategies are researched every day, information sharing is becoming more
and more efficient. So to provide the best
supports for the person you care about -- you need to stay tuned in to
the information flow.
This can mean reading books, subscribing to newsletters, taking
workshops, participating in online conferences, and doing research online
or at your local library or resource center. The Web offers a wide range
of resources from those that are diagnosis specific to those that take a
wider view of the special needs field as a whole.
3. The Ability to Stay Organized
It doesn't help to do research or highlight sections of the regulations
if you can't find what you need, when you need it.
Having an organized notebook or filing system of advocacy information is
absolutely vital in this world where the paper
constantly multiplies! Don't let chaos and clutter threaten your advocacy
efforts.
Visit this page for simple instructions
on how to put together your own Advocacy Notebook.
https://www.ideallives.com/resource_kits.html
4. Knowledge of the Law
I make the point in one of my workshops, that even the most confident and
talented advocate cannot succeed without knowing
the rules. Advocacy is like a 3 legged stool -- take away any of the legs
(knowledge, skills, confidence) and the stool tips
over.
You can't win a game where you don't know the rules and you can't be an
effective advocate if you don't know your legal
rights. If you are advocating for a student, study up on the laws
regarding special education services. To assist an adult,
study the laws regarding adult issues like accessibility, housing, and
employment.
5. A Network of Personal Support
Few activities in life are as emotionally and physically draining as
advocacy. The pressure is high because the quality of someone else's life
rests in your hands and yet the "system" is set up so that at very few
moments do you have total control. The result -- a struggle to use your
skills to ensure that the group system does what is in the best interest
of the person you care about.
It's not hard to see why advocates need a reliable system of emotional
support. Making use of online communities, support groups, and family
resources can often be the difference between success and burn-out.
6. Basic Computer Skills
In this day and age the most efficient way for any advocate to gain the
information they need is online. Unfortunately, not
every advocate feels comfortable with their computer. Learning some basic
computer and/or Internet skills can make your journey quicker, easier,
and less frustrating. So can setting up your computer so that it becomes
an asset and not another hurdle. For example, software can allow you to
listen to a web page article instead of reading it or dictate advocacy
notes out loud and have your computer type them up for you.
Being an effective advocate can be a formidable challenge, but by arming
yourself with the essential tools you can make this
difficult task a little easier, a little less stressful, and a lot less
lonely.
 
© 2003, Lisa Simmons
Lisa is the author of several eBooks offering ideas, resources and tools
to help every special needs parent become a more
effective Advocate for their child. For a free resource kit to help make
the skills in this article a reality in your life,
send a blank email to: advocate_tools@sendfree.com
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