Fostering Self-Advocacy in Kids with Special Needs: The Difficult Art of Letting Go

Parents of children with special needs often find themselves fulfilling several roles. Most important of them all, however, is being an advocate. In times when children are unable to defend themselves, parents must step in to speak on their behalf and fight for them.

Advocacy sheds light on the injustice of a situation and can be a catalyst for change. However, as children begin to enter adulthood, it becomes increasingly necessary for them to learn these skills for themselves. Self-advocacy is an invaluable tool that can empower children as they encounter challenging scenarios, and it allows them to take charge of their life to make positive change.

To help parents make this transition, Advocate Todd Gary will be leading a Self-Advocacy in Kids with Special Needs workshop. Todd Gary is the founder of the Special Education Advocacy Group in Danville, the former Special Needs Liaison in SRVUSD, and a long-time scout leader, amongst other accomplishments.

During this workshop, Todd Gary will challenge parents to foster self-advocacy in their children. The exciting and high-energy presentation will provide parents with powerful tools to examine their parenting styles and its impact. It will empower parents to truly understand the potential of their amazing kids and explore the importance of self-knowledge, how to raise an “I can” child. The goal of the workshop is to enable parents to distinguish between product and outcome, foster an internal identity, tackle the crippling fear of failure, and understand how to eventually let go. Fun, fear and controversy is guaranteed!

The event will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017 from 7:00–8:30 p.m, at Pleasanton Middle School Library, located at 5001 Case Ave., Pleasanton.

To register for this free event, go to http://tinyurl.com/Gary1213.

If you have any questions about this event or on how to register online, email snc.events@pleasantonpta.org.

To request a sign (ASL) or spoken language interpreter, email snc.events@pleasantonpta.org by December 4.