Re: Re: how do you get an advocate?

[Guest guest]

Wow. I heard that NJ was active but that is amazing.. I am SO jealous How are the schools? ( ) Re: how do you get an advocate?

In our state of NJ the state department of education is a resource for parents. We have a very active Asperger group called ASPEN and at meetings parent'snetwork with each other. There also is a very active autism community in NJ and they hold conferences and thereis more sharing of the names of resources. I was surprised that someone from our group also livesin NJ and gave me a name of an advocate. Our advocate we found by searching on the internet forspecial education lawyers. Our law firm has a social worker that works for them that does the advocacy part. Where do you live? Near what large cities? Pam >> So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who would I contact?> > Thanks,> Kelley>

[Guest guest]

Pam, I am very curious about your experience in N.J. I've read many great things about how that state handles special ed kids. Have you lived elsewhere so as to compare the experiences? How do they compare?You mentioned that you work for a law firm that has a social worker. How effective is the advocacy work? Is it a hostile environment when she gets involved? At what point would the advocate get involved?

Thanks for fielding these questions! On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 10:12 AM, Pamela <susanonderko@...> wrote:

 

In our state of NJ the state department of education

is a resource for parents. We have a very active

Asperger group called ASPEN and at meetings parent's

network with each other. There also is a very active

autism community in NJ and they hold conferences and there

is more sharing of the names of resources.

I was surprised that someone from our group also lives

in NJ and gave me a name of an advocate.

Our advocate we found by searching on the internet for

special education lawyers. Our law firm has a social

worker that works for them that does the advocacy

part.

Where do you live? Near what large cities?

Pam

>

> So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who would I contact?

>

> Thanks,

> Kelley

>

[Guest guest]

I recommend that you contact your Local Parent Information Training Center...almost every state has one. If you need more help locating yours just email me where you are located. Pam

In a message dated 10/21/2009 11:43:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, susanonderko@... writes:

I did find a parent advocate that was $50 a hour.The law firm we hired charges $225 an hourto coach me. A lot of what parents need is help understanding what our kids need in school and howto get it. Our private therapist was a very good advocate too. But hewas not in any insurance plan and he charged us $225an hour we got back about $75 dollars.Our daughter's anxiety was so severe we had to get herwhat she needed. This group is very helpful too. The first step for any parent is to get a pediatric neurologist to give a diagnosis and write a report on what servicesyour child needs. This is a fabulous tool for advocacy.A school can not ignore a medical doctor diagnosis of Asperger.From that you start the process of getting your childclassifed under IEP this is very important. You have to ignore the school if they say it is not necessary itreally is important. Once classifed you plug away year after year getting all the services in place your child needs like OT, speech, extraacademic support and special education services. You plug away advocating for the social skill class you need,and a behavioral plan if needed. It is a long process but it is what our kids need. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. This group will giveyou the support you need too. We will helpwalk you thru the steps.Take care,Pam > > >> > > So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who would I contact?> > > > > > Thanks,> > > Kelley> > >> >>

[Guest guest]

Pam's post was excellent. Thank you, Pam, for posting that. However, my parent info. ctr is horrible. It's pretty useless in reality. It's topical and provides no true depth to helping parents understand the road ahead of them. They paint it all rosy and back the district.

On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 3:59 PM, <ppanda65@...> wrote:

 

I recommend that you contact your Local Parent Information Training Center...almost every state has one.  If you need more help locating yours just email me where you are located.  Pam

 

In a message dated 10/21/2009 11:43:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, susanonderko@... writes:

 

I did find a parent advocate that was $50 a hour.The law firm we hired charges $225 an hourto coach me. A lot of what parents need is help understanding what our kids need in school and howto get it. Our private therapist was a very good advocate too. But hewas not in any insurance plan and he charged us $225an hour we got back about $75 dollars.Our daughter's anxiety was so severe we had to get herwhat she needed. This group is very helpful too. The first step for any parent is to get a pediatric neurologist to give a diagnosis and write a report on what servicesyour child needs. This is a fabulous tool for advocacy.A school can not ignore a medical doctor diagnosis of Asperger.From that you start the process of getting your childclassifed under IEP this is very important. You have to ignore the school if they say it is not necessary itreally is important. Once classifed you plug away year after year getting all the services in place your child needs like OT, speech, extraacademic support and special education services. You plug away advocating for the social skill class you need,and a behavioral plan if needed. It is a long process but it is what our kids need. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. This group will giveyou the support you need too. We will helpwalk you thru the steps.Take care,Pam > > >> > > So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who would I contact?> > > > > > Thanks,> > > Kelley> > >> >>

[Guest guest]

Have you heard of this organization? Pam

ISEA - Independent Special Education Advice (Scotland) - The Good School Guide

ish Independent Advocacy Alliance - SIAA Directory - Independent Special Education Advice (ISEA) (Scotland)

In a message dated 10/22/2009 4:41:38 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lorrainedavidson12@... writes:

I'm in Scotland, we get absolutely no support, no help at school, no groups to go to, we've never met another family with Aspergers, my son has asked a couple of times if he could meet someone that also has Aspergers. We do our best to muddle through, some days are hard some days are good, the best thing we have is a sense of humour.

I recommend that you contact your Local Parent Information Training Center...almost every state has one. If you need more help locating yours just email me where you are located. Pam

In a message dated 10/21/2009 11:43:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, susanonderko writes:

I did find a parent advocate that was $50 a hour.The law firm we hired charges $225 an hourto coach me. A lot of what parents need is help understanding what our kids need in school and howto get it. Our private therapist was a very good advocate too. But hewas not in any insurance plan and he charged us $225an hour we got back about $75 dollars.Our daughter's anxiety was so severe we had to get herwhat she needed. This group is very helpful too. The first step for any parent is to get a pediatric neurologist to give a diagnosis and write a report on what servicesyour child needs. This is a fabulous tool for advocacy.A school can not ignore a medical doctor diagnosis of Asperger.From that you start the process of getting your childclassifed under IEP this is very important. You have to ignore the school if they say it is not necessary itreally is important. Once classifed you plug away year after year getting all the services in place your child needs like OT, speech, extraacademic support and special education services. You plug away advocating for the social skill class you need,and a behavioral plan if needed. It is a long process but it is what our kids need. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. This group will giveyou the support you need too. We will helpwalk you thru the steps.Take care,Pam > > >> > > So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who would I contact?> > > > > > Thanks,> > > Kelley> > >> >>

[Guest guest]

I'm in Scotland, we get absolutely no support, no help at school, no groups to go to, we've never met another family with Aspergers, my son has asked a couple of times if he could meet someone that also has Aspergers. We do our best to muddle through, some days are hard some days are good, the best thing we have is a sense of humour.

I recommend that you contact your Local Parent Information Training Center...almost every state has one. If you need more help locating yours just email me where you are located. Pam

In a message dated 10/21/2009 11:43:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, susanonderko writes:

I did find a parent advocate that was $50 a hour.The law firm we hired charges $225 an hourto coach me. A lot of what parents need is help understanding what our kids need in school and howto get it. Our private therapist was a very good advocate too. But hewas not in any insurance plan and he charged us $225an hour we got back about $75 dollars.Our daughter's anxiety was so severe we had to get herwhat she needed. This group is very helpful too. The first step for any parent is to get a pediatric neurologist to give a diagnosis and write a report on what servicesyour child needs. This is a fabulous tool for advocacy.A school can not ignore a medical doctor diagnosis of Asperger.From that you start the process of getting your childclassifed under IEP this is very important. You have to ignore the school if they say it is not necessary itreally is important.

Once classifed you plug away year after year getting all the services in place your child needs like OT, speech, extraacademic support and special education services. You plug away advocating for the social skill class you need,and a behavioral plan if needed. It is a long process but it is what our kids need. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. This group will giveyou the support you need too. We will helpwalk you thru the steps.Take care,Pam > > >> > > So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who

would I contact?> > > > > > Thanks,> > > Kelley> > >> >>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Pam, I'll check them out.

Lor B

I recommend that you contact your Local Parent Information Training Center...almost every state has one. If you need more help locating yours just email me where you are located. Pam

In a message dated 10/21/2009 11:43:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, susanonderko writes:

I did find a parent advocate that was $50 a hour.The law firm we hired charges $225 an hourto coach me. A lot of what parents need is help understanding what our kids need in school and howto get it. Our private therapist was a very good advocate too. But hewas not in any insurance plan and he charged us $225an hour we got back about $75 dollars.Our daughter's anxiety was so severe we had to get herwhat she needed. This group is very helpful too. The first step for any parent is to get a pediatric neurologist to give a diagnosis and write a report on what servicesyour child needs. This is a fabulous tool for advocacy.A school can not ignore a medical doctor diagnosis of Asperger.From that you start the process of getting your childclassifed under IEP this is very important. You have to ignore the school if they say it is not necessary itreally is important.

Once classifed you plug away year after year getting all the services in place your child needs like OT, speech, extraacademic support and special education services. You plug away advocating for the social skill class you need,and a behavioral plan if needed. It is a long process but it is what our kids need. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. This group will giveyou the support you need too. We will helpwalk you thru the steps.Take care,Pam > > >> > > So I was wondering how you get an advocate to help you with the schools? I have heard ohters on the board talk bout it but what is the process and who would I contact?> > >

> > > Thanks,> > > Kelley> > >> >>