Results
Education > K-12
Transition Planning Through K-12: Preparing Your Child for School Changes
...post-secondary kind that kicks in at age 16 under IDEA, but the school-to-school kind that starts in 5th grade, and again in 8th, and requires the same advocacy muscle each time. When to Start Elementary-to-Middle Transition Planning. Fifth grade is the year to begin. Not the spring of 5th grade when the counselor...
Education > Higher Education
Teaching Self-Advocacy Skills for College: A Transition Checklist
...disappears. What replaces it is self-advocacy. And here's what makes this...that schools provide self-advocacy instruction in transition...The good news is that self-advocacy is a skill, not a personality...child ever leaves home. Self-Advocacy Is Procedural Knowledge. This...students and parents treat self-advocacy as something you either have...
Special Needs > Learning Differences
IEP or 504: Which Plan Does Your Child with a Learning Difference Need?
...why it matters. It matters because the two plans operate under different laws, provide different levels of support, and require different kinds of advocacy from you. Choosing the wrong one or accepting what's offered without understanding it can leave your child without the services they need. Here's...
Special Needs > Dyslexia
Dyslexia and College: How Accommodations Change and What Students Need to Know
...own academic lives. Students with dyslexia can absolutely get the support they need in college, but the process requires a different kind of self-advocacy, and most students don't realize that until they're already struggling through their first semester. What Changes When You Leave High School. Under...
Research > Funding
Private Foundations Funding Disability Research: A Guide for Advocates and Families
Foundations funding disability research, their priorities, application cycles, and advocacy strategies for families.
Research > Drug Development
Should Your Child Participate in a Clinical Trial? A Parent's Decision Framework
Your child's specialist just mentioned a clinical trial. Or an advocacy organization sent an email about a study recruiting for your child's condition. You've got a packet of information, a consent form that's thirty pages...
Global Insights > Advocacy
Teaching Your Child to Self-Advocate: Age-by-Age Strategies from Elementary Through High School
Self-advocacy doesn't start at graduation....when to start teaching self-advocacy. The answer is earlier than...The transition from parent advocacy to self-advocacy isn't a single...from parent advocacy to self-advocacy isn't a single handoff. It's...Ages 5–10. At this age, self-advocacy means understanding their...
Global Insights > Advocacy
Beyond the IEP: Legal Rights Parents of Children with Disabilities Should Know
...their child's education also covers discrimination at work, barriers to housing, and access to everyday spaces. That knowledge is the foundation for advocacy in every other domain of life. The Gap Most Parents Don't See. IDEA is specific to schools and early intervention. It gives children the right to...
News > Advocacy
The R-Word Spiked 200% Online. A Disney Actor With Down Syndrome Made a 91-Second Response Parents Need to See.
Noah Matthews Matofsky's viral video responds to a 207% R-word spike with a history lesson on harmful practices we left behind.
Education > Higher Education
College Programs for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: What CTPs Offer
...auditing college courses alongside traditional students, participating in career-focused classes, or completing modules on financial literacy and self-advocacy. The emphasis isn't on grades or prerequisites. It's on building practical knowledge. Career training often takes the form of internships, on-campus...
Special Needs > Respiratory Health
Respiratory Health for Children with Disabilities: A Complete Family Guide
Covering asthma, chronic lung disease, and ventilator dependence with practical management strategies and advocacy guidance.
Special Needs > Rare Disorders
IEP Advocacy for Children with Rare Disorders: When No One Has Done This Before
When your child's condition is so rare that school staff have never seen it, IDEA still protects them. Here's how to advocate.