Be the "Squeaky Wheel" parent. Here's how to Advocate for your Child.
Seriously, your child deserves better.
Why are we accepting it when our kids are ignored?
This week I’ve been so disappointed hearing how about how schools, and some other organisations have not been looking after some of the lovely kids we work for.
It’s not right and it should change.
What I see a lot of the time is parents feeling hesitant.
- Hesitant to push the boundaries with teachers or principals.
- Hesitant to insist that their child is worth making modifications for.
- Hesitant to be the “squeaky wheel”.
Your child can’t advocate for themselves. So as parents, we need to be willing to have people in authority be upset with us.
We aren’t teenagers anymore. We don’t need anyone’s approval. Be really clear about what your needs are and then be persistent about making sure that those needs get met.
Here’s how things should work (well this is what I believe):
- Every week, I get about 100 text messages to my personal phone from parents about the children who I work directly with. I view those text messages is so valuable for giving me feedback about what our children need. It enables me to tweak what I do to support each child.
- Add to that plenty of emails about what is working or not working for our kids and teens. I’ll do whatever I can change to adapt for kids and teens.
- It all comes from a belief that all therapies should be adapted to fit a child’s needs, not a child adapting to fit into some sort of program or therapy.
So be high maintenance.
Push the boundaries with whoever you work with (including us). Advocate for your child even if it means people getting off-side or people viewing you as high maintenance.
Be confident,
Michael Clark (From Amazing Skills for Autism)
