How to Be Your Child's Advocate Series:

• Advocating for your Kids: Part 1. With Doctors and Counselors

  synopsis:
  This week we want to help you be understood when you go to talk with your son or daughter’s doctor or counselor.  Whether you are just starting to try to get help and get a diagnosis or want to have a better relationship with your doctor, these tips will help.
  1.     Make sure you know what you are talking about.  Do some research.  Most of us go to the Doctor/ counselor thinking he or she will see what I see in my child, and then my child will get the help they need. This will not happen for numerous reasons:
  a.     Your child will not act out in front of the Doctor. Your child may even make you look like there is something wrong with you Mom and Dad, and your child is just fine! Have you ever heard that?  I have too many times.
  b.     Doctors and counselors are not experts in every disorder, so unless they are a specialist, they may know less about a potential disorder than you do
  
   

  Advocating for Your Kids: Part 2: At School

   Synopsis:   We all have been there. You are trying to get the right kind of help for your child in his or her school so your child will be successful.  
  
  Getting help for your kids could be anything from just asking to have them moved closer to the teacher so they will feel more a part of what is going on, to getting them involved in a special education class or tutoring.  Whether it is a big request or a small one, working with your school isn’t always easy.
  
  

  Advocating for Your Kids: National Legal Resources and RAD Resource You Should Know

  Synopsis: Many times we have gotten messages from parents or foster or adoptive parents who are at the end of their ropes and are wondering what their legal rights are. Sometimes you just need to find an advocate, other times you may have to delve in a little further. 
  
  Although there was no easy answer for this parent, there were some resources mentioned I thought might help some of us at one point or another, but we should all be aware are out there. 
  
  For our international readers, if you have links to advocate groups for us to add, please let us know and we would love to include that information here for everyone.