The Advocate's Eye and the Open Heart

On this day of the New Year I would like to focus on what happens when someone finally develops the eye of an advocate.  What does that really mean and does that process of developing the Eye of an advocate have any impact on your life and if it does what does it look like?

We can compare the process of developing an advocate’s eye to developing an understanding and appreciation of music.  Many of us tend to prefer one genre of music over...

The Eyes Can Be Deceiving

My guess is that you did not notice that the words in the picture are not mirror images but the quite different words of Teach and Learn. This was an intentional optical illusion. Unfortunately, 25% off ALL children have a vision problem significant enough to affect their performance in school. It is not enough to check visual acuity. You are also looking to understand what they see, how they understand what they see and how they can use and process what they see.

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Getting Lost in LD

You get the call from the parent but they are not sure whether they want to hire an advocate or a lawyer. All they know is that their child is not doing well in school and something has to change. Frustration, anger and confusion seem to be a constant state of affairs and no one is offering any support or information that alleviates any of those emotions for the parent nor are there any changes to the IEP that might give the parents some hope for progress.

As an advocate...

You Called?

The goal of Education Advocacy is to give a child true access to their education through the development of a functional IEP that has functional goals supported by appropriate SDIs, clinical interventions, and research-based programming. This is what creates transformation for the child. This is why Education Advocacy is not just a job or just a business. Many would say that Education Advocacy is a calling or a vocation becausEducation Advocacy is where inequity can be brought...

High School to College - IEPs are not 504s

The transition from high school to college is usually difficult for most teens because many of the rules have changed. In addition, there are no nagging adults demanding that you follow through, finish your work or go to class. It all sounds wonderful until you have slept through your morning classes for the third time and you have automatically dropped a full letter grade because of it. If you are off the charts with an IQ of 160 it probably will...

504's & ADA do not = IDEA

LESS THAN 17% OF STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR ACCOMMODATIONS IN POST-SECONDARY PROGRAMS, ACCESS THEM.

Only 34% of special education students who go on to post-secondary education graduate within 8 years.

Students who started using available accommodations during their first year in college graduated 3.8 times more frequently than those who waited a year to implement them.

Do you think there might be a connection among those statements? Do you work with a student who...

WHO GETS TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL

According to the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS), 92% of parents expected their child to graduate from high school with a regular diploma and
75% expected their child go on to post-secondary education after high school.

GRADUATION RATE OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES

 1990 - 57% - national average
2016 – 64% - national average

• In 20 states graduation rates are lower than 60%
• In 3 states graduation rate is 50% lower...

Where Am I?  Where Am I Going?

And just how am I going to get there? Questions that all students struggle with and those in special education programs struggle with even more because those answers demand so much self- knowledge, self- advocacy, empowerment and direction. Traditionally, schools have not been particularly good at helping students transition into adulthood. That is why providing a Summary of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (SAAFP) is now the culmination of...

 Empowerment = Self Advocacy

Empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.

Empowerment is one of those things you gift to yourself. Empowerment can not be given to you by someone else. The more you practice empowerment the easier it becomes. Empowerment does not mean that you will never have feelings of anxiety or fear. It does not mean that you will never feel threatened or intimidated. It means that despite any...

CAREER AWARENESS/EMPLOYMENT GOALS

The assumption of competence on the part of parents, teachers and other authority figures who have contact with students who have intellectual or physical challenges can have a huge impact on post-secondary employment, education, lifestyle and life satisfaction. Part of that assumption of competence can be demonstrated in the care taken to expose the students to as wide a range of employment options as possible as well as creating an environment that assumes...