The #1 Rule of Advocacy: Document Everything

Can you guess what the Cardinal Rule of advocacy is?

I'll give you a hint...

You don't have to know all of the laws or acronyms to be a good advocate for your child or someone else's child.  You don't even have to have finite goals in mind or be able to specify exactly what outcomes you hope to achieve (although this is important later on!)

No, the most important rule of being an effective advocate for yourself, your child, or for whomever you are providing a voice is actually pretty simple.

Document EVERYTHING.

There are several ways to do this.  I'll explain how I do my own personal documentation and provide you with resources that will give you examples of how other people may do it.  At the end of the day, you have to decide what works best for YOU.  It needs to be organized and thorough.  You need to be able to find answers at your fingertips without doing a lot of paper shuffling.

Jennifer's Advocacy Document Organization Technique
Create a binder.  Make sure it's big!  I'm using a 2" binder for a child who has only been in the school system for three years.  Can you imagine how large a high school child's binder(s) would be?!  My binder has dividers for each of the following categories, though not necessarily in the order I have them listed.  I'll explain the categories in more detail below.
  * Emails
  * Letters
  * Testing
  * IEP's
  * Communication Log
  * Policies
  * Notes
  * Minutes

Emails: This is pretty self explanatory.  If you send or receive an email to or from the school, teacher, or pertaining to the student, print it off with all supporting replies.  This is extremely valuable because a) written agreements and communication are very hard (if impossible) to disprove b) everything is time stamped c) you have a history of everything that was "stated".

Letters: As you dive further into advocacy work, you will discover that aside from documentation, letters are the cornerstone of every effective advocate's work.  If you want to see something accomplished, you write a letter.  If you want to confirm something, you write a letter.  If you want to request information, you write a letter.  Having these letters readily available and organized can make your work much easier.    Keep in mind that letters are different than emails, and therefore should have their own special place.  They are generally more formal and "official".

Testing: Again, this one speaks for itself.  Have your testing results and information together in one place.  I put mine in chronological order so that the most recent, pertinent information is on top as soon as I open the tab leaving the older tests towards the back of the section.

IEP's: In case you've just entered the world of advocacy or are still trying to grasp what the acronyms mean, an IEP is an Individualized Education Plan.  IEP's specifically detail the educational plan for a special needs child.  We'll discuss IEP's at length later on.  However, for now, just be sure that you have all IEP's and addendums included in your documentation.  It is helpful to compare IEP's year to year (or even more frequently as needed) when it comes time for the planning process.  You don't want to have to dig to find what you need.

Communication Log: These days, communication takes many forms including text messages, instant messaging, and phone calls/voicemail.  Phone log is sort of my way of saying Document Every Incident, Communication, IM, Text Message, etc.  Write it down.  Note the time and date and as much detail as possible.  

Policies: Unfortunately, there will come a time in every advocate's (and by advocate, I mean volunteer, paid, parent, etc.) experience when it will be necessary to ask for a copy of a stated policy.  This can include a wide range of things.  If you are uncertain about what you are being told, ask for a copy of the policy.  If one is provided, include it in your documentation.  If you ask for one and one is never provided, be sure to include the ask and response (or lack of) in your communication log.  For example, if you request audio record an IEP, and you are told you cannot do so, ask for the document showing the policy stating that audio recording is prohibited in IEP's.

Notes:  I take notes all the time.  They provide me with a roadmap and important reminders.  I will usually review them and use them to convert into minutes from meetings and conferences or use them for my communication log.  I strongly recommend you do the same.  It's a habit that has carried over from college and has proven to be an incredible asset to my advocacy work.  I keep my raw notes (yes, just plain 'ol pen and paper in binder notes) until I am certain that I have captured everything I needed in another place.  Some advocates may not do this; however, I have found that I frequently reference my handwritten notes to help me remember context, etc.

Minutes: Minutes are basically formal notes. I review my notes at the conclusion of a meeting and turn them into a written recording of what has transpired.  My minutes are very comprehensive.  I tend to include mood shifts, tone changes, etc. so that I can remember every detail from a meeting.  They read like a narrative so that at any time I can go back and identify specifics from the meeting.  I have been told that my minutes are so complete and detailed it is as if I had an actual audio recorder sitting in the room.

Here are a few other resources for organizing records.  Please note that I have not extensively reviewed these links.  They are not intended to replace any advice that you may seek from a professional and are only to give you a starting point for organizing your information.

About.com
From Emotions to Advocacy
(more to come...)

Hello and Welcome!

If you've stumbled across my little corner of the blogsphere, welcome!

This is one of several blogs I run.  However, The Right to Learn is perhaps the blog that is nearest and dearest to my heart.

Five years ago, I was trained as an education advocate by the Georgia Advocacy Office Parent Leadership Support Project.  I learned all about IEP's, FAPE, 504, IDEA, and a bunch of other acronyms that make very little sense to most of the population!

My training came out of my desire to help those who don't have a voice to help themselves.  However, since the time of my training I have become a mommy to three amazing yet extremely energetic future advocates!  Four of the last five years have been spent rocking babies, changing diapers, and learning how to juggle multiple hats at one time.  While my drive be an advocate for children with special needs did not change, the amount of time I had to devote to all of my passions was greatly diminished and advocating for other children had to temporarily take a back seat.

Several weeks ago, I was approached by a mom who has a child with special needs.  She knew that things with her son's educational needs were not being met but wasn't sure how to go about getting him the services he not only required to thrive, but was entitled to.  After spending time trying to find her an advocate and consulting extensively with my own mentor, I agreed to take on the case myself.

It was the best decision I ever made.

The progress we have made for this child's education has been remarkable in a very short period of time.  It hasn't been easy; in fact, it has been more work than I could have ever imagined.  But the rewards that will come from this work will be fruitful for years to come.  And while the family is thanking me over and over, it is I who should be thanking them.

They have helped me find my purpose once again.