How to Advocate for Your Special Needs Child

1. Who are special needs? 2. Inner and outer conflict 3. How to tame our emotions 4. Parents as advocates Having a child presents new responsibilities for parents. As parents, we practice having different roles in our children's lives. From being a breadwinner to ensuring our kids have everything, they need to thrive in their homes, schools, community, and society. And we can all agree that raising children is not easy, although it brings to us so much joy. When you have a child with special needs, the role of a parent doubles; it brings with it a lot of challenges because, on top of everything any parent does for their kids, parents now must learn to be more for their children. Being an immigrant also brings with it more challenges. Parents now have to navigate new territory and get services and resources for their children, but first, they need to locate those services. Though, where to find them is sometimes obscure. They must manage their emotions within themselves while navigating relationships with family, school, and service providers. I remember my early days when my son started preschool. I felt like I had to fight for every little thing for my son. I sometimes had to scream to be heard or break down in front of service providers because I had no idea how to advocate for my late son Aaron who needed lots of services.