Recently Janie Bowman wrote to share, A Pocket Manual for Advocates: Information and Resources for Lay Advocates with us and I’m so glad she did because it is definitely one of those resources you will want to bookmark.

Part of the introduction reads:

A Pocket Manual for Advocates is written for:

* Lay advocates.

* Parents who attend meetings with other parents.

* Teachers who advocate for their students.

* Friends or family members who advocate for children and families in an educational

setting.

Each situation is different and not all experiences or resources will be pertinent to yours.

Even professionals differ among themselves, so we don’t expect you to agree with

everything we write. A good advocate will seek the most current information, and we

encourage you to research and verify all information and resources. For your convenience,

resources that may be helpful are listed after each section and at the end of the manual.

Advocacy is a process, not a destination. We can be plunged into the world of advocacy

by a slow turn of events or by a surprise diagnosis. But one thing is sure, we didn’t wake

up one morning saying, “Today I’m going to help support other parents in their quest for a

free and appropriate education for their children.” Excruciating “hands on,” ears “tuned in”

and “eyes wide open” experiences are at the core of what activates advocates.

This entry was posted on July 20, 2007 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Free Resources, Learning Styles, Special Needs, Supplemental, Websites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.