Written by: Amanda Levison, M.S., LMHC, LPC, CCBT
The calendar says that April is Autism Awareness Month, but for parents that have a child with autism, every month is Autism Awareness Month. Children with autism have a plethora of people who work with them from therapists, teachers, and therapeutic support staff (TSS), and the list could go on. But who is the best person for a child with autism? You guessed it, mom and dad (or whoever the people are that are raising this child).
However, what happens to the children that the parents are not well-educated in the services that he or she needs and aren’t aware of their rights? Recently, a parent was sitting in my office and was telling me they saw a sheet from another child's folder was put in their child's folder by mistake. Knowing that everyone is human, they emailed the teacher and informed them. The teacher was mortified. The parent was telling me they felt bad for the child because the child's parents nor the school were pushing the child to reach the full capacity, based on the listed goals.
Parents need to be the best advocate for their children with needs. Parents need to research, and keep scheduling meetings to get what he or she wants. Nobody knows your child like you do. Don't let the school say no, when you want them to say yes. Keep fighting for your child, and if you don't know what to fight for, find someone that can help!