Title: What Is the Role of a Special Education Advocate? | American University
Headings: What Is the Role of a Special Education Advocate?
What Is the Role of a Special Education Advocate?
Role and Responsibilities of a Special Education Advocate<
How Special Education Advocates Help Families
Special Education Advocate Careers
Training and Skills for Special Education Advocates
Writing Skills
Research Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Career Outlook
Empower Families as a Special Education Advocate
Recommended Readings

Content: Special education advocates play a vital role in helping families know their rights and get the services that will allow their children to succeed. Role and Responsibilities of a Special Education Advocate<
What is the role of the special education advocate? Special education advocates help parents make sure a child’s special needs are met. They help parents understand available services, interpret test results, and work with schools to plan individualized education programs (IEPs). For a student with special needs, learning concerns take many forms. A special education advocate helps families address previously identified learning challenges, as well as pinpoint overlooked factors that may be affecting a child’s ability to learn. These include: Learning disabilities
Intellectual disabilities
Vision and hearing impairments
Speech and language disorders
ADHD
Autism spectrum disorder
Behavioral and emotional disorders
Physical disabilities
Chronic illness
Traumatic brain injury
A special education advocate takes on many responsibilities. To empower families and give a voice to students, special education advocates perform the following duties: Advising parents about services, programs, and accommodations that meet their children’s individual needs
Helping parents interpret reports and evaluations, as well as explaining their implications
Drafting requests, responses, and complaints to schools
Assisting parents with submitting written requests
Preparing parents for IEP and 504 meetings (meetings that outline the services and accommodations students will receive and how schools will remove barriers to learning, such as providing a talking calculator to students with dyscalculia), which may include suggesting support materials or prioritizing goals and objectives
Checking special education documents for accuracy and completion both before and after IEP and 504 meetings
Accompanying parents to IEP and 504 meetings to offer advice and assistance
Advising parents about the strength of their cases before review and offering referrals to special education attorneys when appropriate
How Special Education Advocates Help Families
A complex system of federal, state, and local laws, plus policies and regulations, oversees special education.