Being an Effective Advocate for Your Child
By Harold S . Koplewicz , MD , Child Mind Institute
If you have discovered that your child has a psychiatric or learning problem , or you are beginning to suspect that she does , you might be wondering what you can do to make sure that she is getting the best support possible when she is at school . Parents sometimes tell me that they feel powerless when it comes to school issues , but there is actually a lot we can do for our children in terms of advocacy . Here are some good rules to follow :
1 . Communicate with your child and ask questions .
Study after study shown that kids make healthier choices , do better in school and have higher self-esteem if they have warm , positive communication with their parents .
Parents who want to help their children tackle the challenges of school need to be able to ask direct questions on a regular basis and carefully consider the answers . “ What do you like best about school ?” is often a good icebreaker . Follow-up questions should include “ What is easy to do each day ?” and “ What is the subject you wish you had only once a week instead of every day ?”
2 . Recognize that your child behaves differently at home and school .
It ’ s critical to talk to your child ’ s teacher to find out how well she is functioning at school . Teacher-child relationships vary widely , but given that teachers spend six hours a day with our kids , we can count on them to have a keen sense of how
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