You are the best advocate for your child. Nobody else knows your child better than you do, and that´s why it is so important to speak up and be the voice of your special needs child.

Why speak your mind?

Labels are easy for most people to apply, and they tend to think that children with special needs are all the same. You know that your child is unique, with his or her own abilities and needs, and you need to make sure that teachers, therapists, physicians, babysitters and friends and family know that, too.

Related: Happy World Down syndrome Day

When to speak up?

• When your child is receiving services. Don´t let therapists or evaluators tell you things like: kids with this syndrome don´t learn to talk until they are certain age, or that because they are very low muscle tone it is so hard for them to do this or that. Always require official evaluations to determine where your child is according to the developmental chart and what he or she needs as an individual.

• When it is time to start school. Kids with special needs start school at 3 years old, and from 3 to 5 years old the school system offers them special education under a program designed to prepare them for the beginning of regular school. At the end of this stage, there is a revision to the Individualized Education Plan of the child. “The system” prefers to put a special needs child in a special education classroom, segregating him instead of including him. You have the right to talk and remind counselors to see your child as a child first, and put aside the diagnosis and focus on his abilities instead of the disability.

• When it is time to make a decision for the future. Ideally, your special needs child will be able to make his own decisions about the future, but he will need your faith and support to look at the future with hope. Don´t let others limit your child´s dreams. Instead, get ready for the future by setting a trust fund for saving money for the college or for giving him the opportunity to have a small business or be part of a family business.

If you don´t speak and advocate for your child, nobody else will do it. You are the specialist for your child and nobody else can tell you what he can or can´t do.

Be realistic and objective, without ever forgetting that our hope and belief in our loved ones are the most important tools to help them succeed.

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