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Four mistakes angry parents make advocating for their special needs child: part four
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Getting appropriate services for your child in the quickest way possible often requires that parents leave their residual anger and frustration over the process behind in order to forge ahead. Giving up, refusing to compromise, and not understanding the process are three of the most common mistakes that can lengthen or impede an already complicated process. The last mistake that can interfere with progress in negotiating with the multidisciplinary team is getting stuck in the moment.
Mistake #4: Getting Stuck in the Moment
Parents who have traveled a difficult road to get services for their special needs child can sometimes get stuck in that moment. You may have moved on to a different teacher, a different multidisciplinary team, or even a different school, but that past negative experience can still color your perception and prevent you from building a new, more productive relationship. How to get "unstuck?" Just as your struggling child will hopefully begin to re-engage and rebuild his or her self-esteem with each new success in the classroom, each positive interaction that you have with your multidisciplinary team can help reaffirm that it is possible for the system to work.
Nobody is perfect, and certainly special educaiton, as well as education in general, remains in need of fixing. However, as in any other field, special education and school districts are comprised of individuals. Some are terrific, some are awful. The system can work, and doing all that you can to maintain a positive an collaborative relationship on your end can only help you and your child. This is true even, and perhaps especially, when things fall apart.
For more information on the special education process:
The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (Department of Education)
Your Rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights)
Parental Rights and Procedural Safeguards in the Special Education Process (Maryland State Department of Education)
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