{"id":22783,"date":"2018-10-04T10:30:57","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T14:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=22783"},"modified":"2018-10-01T12:27:42","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T16:27:42","slug":"do-i-need-an-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/do-i-need-an-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Need an Advocate?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Do%20I%20Need%20an%20Advocate%3F\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><blockquote><p>My daughter is a 5th grader, reading at the 2nd grade level. The school has finally agreed to test her for services, but said we had to sign some kind of waiver.<\/p>\n<p>Do I need to get an advocate?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-22911\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/sign.document.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"497\" height=\"333\" \/>It is good news that the school will test your daughter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/test.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">testing is comprehensive<\/span><\/a>, it should answer any questions the IEP team has about areas concerns in your daughter&#8217;s skills. This includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>language<\/li>\n<li>learning<\/li>\n<li>cognitive<\/li>\n<li>adaptive<\/li>\n<li>emotional issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A comprehensive evaluation should also provide recommendations for programming and describes the necessary intensity, duration, and type of interventions your child needs.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, <em>school based testing often falls short in this regard<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Advocate<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Parents usually seek help with advocacy to fix something that has gone wrong.<\/p>\n<p>For advocacy to be the most productive, efficient, and less costly in the long run, it is best to get the advocate involved at the beginning of the process.<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind, even the best advocate is only as effective as the parent she works for. <strong>You will actually be the person<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>getting the paperwork<\/li>\n<li>signing documents<\/li>\n<li>making decisions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The more you know about the process, the more effectively you can work with the advocate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ideally, advocates address issues ahead of time to head off future problems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Caution:<\/strong> Parents <em>do not need to waive any rights<\/em> for either themselves or their child in order for the child to learn to read in a timely manner, or to get a child tested.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finding an Advocate<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To find a short list of good advocates:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>call attorneys who represent parents in special education hearings<\/li>\n<li>ask they who they recommend as an advocate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When several of the attorneys are recommending the same advocates &#8211; these are the ones to choose from.<\/p>\n<p>There are no national or state standards for advocates so it is important to get a referral to someone who has training, experience, and a track record of successful advocacy.<\/p>\n<p>Look at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/states.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Wrightslaw Yellow Pages for Kids resource directory<\/span><\/a> for advocates and attorneys in your state.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/states.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/states.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You may also consider checking neighboring states. On the Yellow Pages, you find also find more resources in addition to advocates and attorneys.<\/p>\n<p>Other resource listings here:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.copaa.org\/search\/custom.asp?id=1489\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.copaa.org\/search\/custom.asp?id=1489<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ndrn.org\/en\/ndrn-member-agencies.html\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">http:\/\/www.ndrn.org\/en\/ndrn-member-agencies.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/bks\/feta2\/feta2.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13180\" style=\"border: 1px solid #000000; margin-left: 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/feta2.100.dpi500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"145\" height=\"189\" \/><\/a>From Emotions to Advocacy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No matter what you do or who you call &#8211; read (and reread) this book.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/store\/feta2.sm.store.html\"><em><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It will help you understand your rights and your daughter\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n<p>It will also tell you what you need to know in order to get the education your daughter has a right to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Remember: The more you know about the process, the more effectively you can\u00a0 advocate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The basics of advocacy seem weak when a large problem is looming, but they are the bricks that can build a better program and document what is not working in the current program.<\/p>\n<p>The principles and tools in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/store\/feta2.sm.store.html\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">From Emotions to Advocacy<\/span><\/a><\/em> can be used for any situation, so continue to use it as a reference book.<\/p>\n<p>In this book, you will also find samples of letters that you can adapt to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/ltrs.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">document<\/span><\/a> your own circumstances.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>You may also like&#8230;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/tests_measurements.html\">Tests and Measurements<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/store\/cd.test.scores.html\">How to Understand your Child\u2019s Test Scores.<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/advo.index.htm\">Special Education Advocacy<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/test.index.htm\">Assessments, Evaluations and Tests<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/iep.index.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My daughter is a 5th grader, reading at the 2nd grade level. The school has finally agreed to test her for services, but said we had to sign some kind <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/do-i-need-an-advocate\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,529,1367],"tags":[31,421,1300,570,973],"class_list":["post-22783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy","category-parent-rights-responsibilities","category-assessments-tests","tag-evaluations","tag-parent-advocacy","tag-reading","tag-wrightslaw-understanding-your-childs-test-scores","tag-wrightslaw-from-emotions-to-advocacy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22783"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23406,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22783\/revisions\/23406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}