Finding My Way to Special Education Advocacy

Getting here has been a twisty road, 17 years long. It began when I was 22 and graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology and no job direction. I, along with another person, became a developmental home care provider for a non-verbal autistic adult. We also frequently provided respite care for an autistic teenager with cerebral palsy and oppositional defiant disorder. It was tough but a lot of fun. After a few years, it was clear to me that a career working with individuals with disabilities was the right path.

I decided to work as a paraprofessional in a middle/high school. I spent the first part of the day as a 1:1 in a special education classroom for a student with down syndrome and the second in the general education classrooms working with a few students.

I sat in on IEP meetings and assisted in developing and measuring goals. It was frustrating at times, particularly when working within program parameters that clearly did not provide the student with an equitable FAPE. However, I really enjoyed working with the students and was inspired to become a special education teacher.

I loved what I was learning in my classes but as I ventured out into real world environments, I found myself faced with much of what I had seen when I was a paraprofessional – overworked teachers, underfunded programming, reliance on behavior compliance, lack of training for general education teachers and paraprofessionals, kids stuck and bored.

The special educators I met often knew the students needed something better but up against the local, state, and federal bureaucratic systems as well as school politics, they were just doing the best they could. Doing the best I could wasn’t going to be enough for me. As I was questioning my decision to become a special educator, life intervened, and I had to stop my graduate program.

Fibromyalgia was just one of the wrenches life threw at me, and it prevented me from doing anything for several years. I was weak and in pain. Eventually, I found my way back to horses, an early passion of mine.

Horses brought me back to life. I discovered I didn't feel as much pain and anxiety when I was with them and grew stronger. I was at the barn most days of the week, outside and working hard, something I never imagined would be possible again.

I started teaching riding lessons to kids and adults. Over the last few years, I’ve had several neurodivergent individuals come through my lesson program and I love to discuss my curriculum and accommodation choices as well as the rights of students in the special education system.

This past summer a parent of one of my students commented, “You are so passionate about this. You should really be a special education advocate.”

I replied, as many people do, “What’s that?”

So, I came home, sat at my computer, and researched for days. I let the idea percolate for a while. I absolutely loved the potential for helping special education students get the programs and accommodations that they needed. As an advocate, I wouldn’t be stuck on the side of the table where my options were limited by the system I was mired in; but rather on the side where I get to bring to the attention of the administration the current issues and help parents/students advocate for the right programs.

While my master’s program had covered a lot, it had also been 10 years since I had to stop taking classes and I knew I needed more if I was going to become an advocate. I completed the Board-Certified Advocacy in Special Education program through NASET.

Now I spend the time that I am not at the barn teaching or riding, surrounded by books, articles, trainings, and webinars on special education, current legal interpretations, programs, and disability rights as I continue to dive deeper into the realm of special education advocacy.