Being an advocate. What does it mean?

Advocacy is promoting and defending a person’s rights, needs and interests.

An advocate is someone who speaks up for others. 

You know and understand your child better than anyone else. If people are making decisions for or about your child, we can make sure these decisions are in your child’s best interests by supporting you to advocate for them.

It will also help to find out who’s responsible for what in your child’s school or other services your child uses. This way you’ll know who to talk to and what you can expect.

Stay calm
If you stay calm and polite, people will be more open to your point of view. Try to focus on solutions, stick to facts, ask questions and make suggestions rather than demanding things.

For example, ‘Donna has Down syndrome, so she plays football a little bit differently. It would be great for her and great for the club’s reputation for being inclusive’.

It’s normal to feel intense emotions when you’re advocating for your child. It will help to have a professional advocate to support you to stay calm and focused during meetings.  Contact us on 07908532424 or email info@senpower.co.uk to discuss how we can support you.