SOME USEFUL TIPS
Always take someone with you to meetings; a friend, a
relative, a neighbour, an advocate, who is willing to support you on issues
and who will act as a scribe for the meeting.
Always have answers ready for the usual bureaucratic replies. Develop
counter-arguments to their predicted responses.
Always be prepared for meetings:
- Do your background work and prepare your key issues.
- Set an agenda of what you want to talk about before you go.
- Be very clear about what your main message is and keep repeating
it in your conversation.
- Be clear of the difference between a compromise and a sell out
before you go. Know what you are prepared to accept as our bottom line.
Join with people with like minds who are also concerned about the same things. Keep them informed and join mass action to gain political support.
Parents as Advocates
It is usual for parents to have a vested interest in their children with their
commitment enduring over many years. For sons and daughters with disabilities,
family members are often the most constant people in their lives, especially
when they have complex support needs.
Much of the attitude change and progress that has happened
in the lives of people with disabilities can be directly attributed
to the commitment and energy of parents.
Parents will usually take on advocacy roles by speaking out to ensure their
sons and daughters get a good deal in life. When the going gets tough,
many parents come to the fore with creative ideas and energy to find ways to
better the situation.
Families with sons and daughters with complex support needs face many pressures,
with extra tasks and responsibilities forming part of daily life. Everyday
solutions are not usually enough and extra supports are likely to be required
to enable family members to carry on their ordinary life roles. Support
to families are often essential.
Getting decent supports so sons and daughters can achieve better options and
better lives in their communities has always been a huge challenge for families.
Often the supports to families and to children and adults with disabilities
themselves are not forthcoming.
Other times the supports which are offered to families are quite inappropriate.
Parents are forced to consider solutions which are not to their liking, and
accept them for mere survival, because they are the only options available to
them.
Service professional will often come and go, placing a range of "shoulds" on
the family. Parents often find that they are left to find solutions themselves
and to take on systems which are at odds with what they consider is a decent
life for their family members.
When taking on an advocacy role on behalf of people with disabilities, parents
find they can make changes, not only to their personal situations, but also
to society as a whole.