1. Educate yourself about your child’s disability.
   This is essential for advocating for your child! Without knowledge of your child’s condition or developmental disability, you cannot properly defend, support, or recommend proper care. If your child is on the autism spectrum, learn everything you can about autism spectrum disorder. Read books, research autism online, find out about therapies and autism care, talk to fellow parents who have children with autism…Anything to help you learn about your child’s diagnosis! Educating yourself about your child’s condition is essential because, without knowledge, you cannot inform others.
   

2. Believe in your child
Yes, your child has a developmental disability. But there’s no limit to what he or she can do in life! People tend to put children with special needs in a box to represent all the things they “can’t” do.

But the truth is, special needs children are capable of anything!
To be your child’s advocate, you must believe in your child! When someone tries to limit your child’s abilities, state your child will get there in his/her own time. While your child may have a limited vocabulary now, believe in his/her ability to form complete sentences and communicate effectively.

Sometimes it’s not just strangers, friends, and family that try to limit your child’s capabilities, it is doctor’s and therapists. If you ever experience a situation where a therapist or doctor tells you your child is not understanding or developing at the correct rate, believe your child will!

3. Don’t take no for an answer
The one thing that shocked me with an autism diagnosis for my son is the waitlist for therapies. Since I live in a rural area, I am also experiencing a lack of available treatment options for my son. He is currently on a waiting list for an intensive 12-week autism treatment program, and he has 80 other kids in front of him.

Just because my son is on a long waiting list doesn’t mean I’m taking “no” for an answer. I’m advocating for his treatment by calling the therapist’s office every week to see where he is on the waiting list and what I can do to get him treatment faster. I refuse to sit by idly and wait for the therapist to call me when they have an opening.

A part of being an advocate for your child is making sure they receive appropriate treatment. And sometimes that means you need to be persistent to the point of annoying therapy and doctor’s offices.

This same concept also applies to insurance and billing for autism treatment. If you receive a large bill your insurance will not cover, call the insurance company and appeal the decision. Autism requires many different therapists to aid a child’s development and it’s expensive.

5. Get involved with your child’s IEP

It can be an overwhelming feeling when a school district creates an individualized education plan (IEP) for your child. Your child’s IEP will (most likely) be created by a team of school district staff that include a school psychologist, a speech therapist, and a specialized education teacher. While they provide a professional and third-person assessment of what skills your child needs help with…

You are the best person to help them create an IEP! This is the best way to advocate for your child because you are directly involved with your child’s IEP and can make suggestions for improvements. But remember to be open to new ideas and ways of helping your child succeed!

Another benefit of being involved in your child’s IEP is getting to know the teachers and/or therapists. This helps when behavioral issues arise with your son or daughter in the classroom. Your involvement can help ease problems in the classroom because you already know the teachers and can talk openly about the behavior improvements that need to be made.