Learn to Advocate for Children with Special Needs

Brenner will focus on the definition of advocacy, strategies for planning, preparing and presenting information, parent rights, laws and regulations governing special education, acronyms, resources and a discussion of the four areas of advocacy (education, medical, family and community). Yorktown SEPTA's secretary, Melissa Cancro, said parents of special needs children should attend this in-depth workshop.

"Sharing knowledge and experience will help parents be less fearful when trying to figure out the best way to help their special needs child in school and with other important areas of daily life," she said.

The parent has the "best knowledge of a child's needs" and will appreciate learning about the tools and resources necessary to be a true advocate for the total well-being of their special needs child, Cancro said. Isabel Hershkowitz, parent training coordinator for Putnam Independent Living Services, said special needs parents "have to be equipped with correct information and helpful resources in order to navigate through the assessment, requirements and expectations of today's schools and medical professionals."

She said parents would benefit from using these advocacy strategies so they can "communicate more effectively with the special education team in a child's school." Brenner, the presenter for "Advocating For Your Child," has worked at the Mid-Hudson Regional Early Childhood Direction Center for 11 years as an educator/advocate. She is the special  education chair for the Taconic Regional PTA. As a parent of four children, with one child having multiple special needs, Brenner also shares from her experience as a former N-6 certified teacher and early childhood administrator/teacher in this comprehensive workshop. Based on her own experiences working as an advocate for her children, she has created this informational workshop to help other special needs parents know that they "don't have all the answers" and that there are "resources and strategies available for concerned parents to advocate for their children in the areas of education, medical, family and community.

The Magic Age : New Jersey Law for Children with Special Needs

There are certain ages in a child’s life that are benchmarks for changes.  For some children, turning age 17 is an important day, since that is when the child can obtain a driver’s license and for some age 18 is an important age, when they become emancipated and legally adults.  For children with special needs, there are also important ages when life changes occur.

Age 18 is a magic age in the life of a child with special needs.  Prior to age 18, assets in a parent’s name are relevant in determining whether the child is eligible to receive government assistance.  As a result, limited if any government programs are available to most children with special needs before they turn age 18.  Once a child turns age 18, their parents’ assets are no longer relevant in determining whether they are eligible for many forms of government assistance.  Specifically, Social Security Income (“SSI”) and Medicaid are available to a child with special needs who meets the definition of disabled at age 18, depending upon the resources and income available to that child.  Generally speaking, a child cannot have assets in excess of $2,000 without compromising eligibility for government assistance.

It is important as your child approaches age 18 to ensure that there are no assets in the name of your child if government assistance would otherwise be available.  Any resources in the child’s name should be spent towards the child’s care.  If there are substantial resources beyond the amount needed to provide for that child, another option is to contribute assets to a pooled trust or a first party special needs trust.  In most cases, these contributions will not preclude the child from receiving government assistance although both a pooled trust and a first party special needs trust (discussed in more depth in prior blog articles) are fairly restrictive in their use and operation.  Better yet would be to ensure that no assets are ever accumulated in the name of your child with special needs.

Another issue which must be addressed as a child approaches age 18 is whether the child has sufficient ability to provide for himself or herself and handle their own financial and medical decisions or whether a guardianship action is appropriate to permit parents to continue to handle financial and medical decisions as guardians.  Guardianship proceedings takes three (3) to six (6) months to complete, and is handled through the Court.  As such, if it makes sense to have a guardian assume financial and medical responsibility for a child at age 18, this process should begin in or around the middle of the child’s 17th year.  If a child can handle his or her own affairs and simply needs assistance by parents, the child should sign a power of attorney and health care proxy when the child turns age 18 to permit parents to assist them with financial and medical decisions.  This does not remove autonomy from the child and ultimately the child’s decision controls; however, it will allow parents to assist the child with the child’s consent.

The Comprehensive Directory, Programs and Services for Children and Youth from Birth to 26 With Disabilities and Special Needs and Their Families in the Metro New York Area

Computers helping people with special needs, 11th international conference, ICCHP 2008, Linz, Austria, July 9-11, 2008 : proceedings

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