How to Advocate for Your Child in School
Learn how to advocate for your child in school in this child psychology video from Howcast with Dr. Kimberly Williams.
Up next in How to Understand Child Psychology (78 videos)
Learn how to handle childhood behavior problems and better understand disorders like autism and ADHD with this Howcast video series.
Comments
Transcript
No one is a better advocate for their child's needs than a parent so it's important to follow a few simple steps. First you want to define the problem and write it down. Any concerns you have be it learning issues or behavioural challenges, it is important to write down the key concerns you have. The next thing to do is develop some action plans what you would like to see to happen to help with the situation be it learning or behavioural. After you have developed an action plan it is important to meet your child's teachers or other members of the school faculty. Within this meeting, approach it with a positive attitude because this is the collaboration of how we are going to solve problems to benefit your child. Within the meeting always keeps your documentation and don't leave the meeting without writing down the next steps. Perhaps you even need a date or a timeline of when some of the resolutions will occur. After the meeting it is also important to follow up with your documentation; sometimes follow up phone calls are needed but you have to remember to follow up the chain of command. Don't skip steps; you don't want to create a contentious relationship between you and the administration at your child's school. Remember this is the collaborative effort. And these are just a few of the tips of how to advocate for your child.
