How can a parent advocate without being adversarial?
Parents are often frustrated with delays in testing, shortened versions of testing, acceptance of mediocre or average work, delays in implementing special services, and failure to implement the educational plan consistently. Schools have limited budgets and competing interests which need to be balanced. Your child is not the only child with needs. Teachers also can be distracted by behavior problems which elicit their immediate attention, rather than addressing the underlying problems. If your child is defiant and angry, they’ll deal with that at school, not the ADD. It’s easy to get into an adversarial state with school staff, but that takes a lot of time and energy. The school has plenty of time and the rules and regulations give them plenty of power. It’s best if you take a strategy of frequent, regular meetings with key players, keep copious notes and copies of e mails and letters, communicate concerns in writing for the record, set specific goals and dates for examining progress,
