My Own Capacity

 

My passion is to assist families which have young children with disabilities obtain he necessary resources for their child to reach their full potential within an early childhood setting.  My family experienced first hand finding the necessary resources for my son to reach his full potential in an early childhood setting by working with the Infants and Toddlers program.  I understand some of the concerns parents which have young children with disabilities.  I plan to use my experience and skills to help families understand the differences of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in order to maximize the services they receive.  Family Support Services is a wonderful resource for families which have young children with disabilities.  They can link parents with additional ideas and techniques to help their children receive the necessary help to be successful and reach their full potential.  They have literature and various assistive technology.  They are unique due to the fact they have children with disabilities which have been through the public school system.  Since I have personally been in the position of the families that have young children with disabilities, it is knowledge I have obtained through my experience.  I have advocated for my son in order to make sure he had the foundational skills to build upon at the next grade level.  I hope to become a more confidence in order to take the necessary steps in the legislative process.

 

 



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

My Role as an Advocate

 

I began my professional journey as a chemist.  When I found out my youngest son had a developmental delay, I wanted to pursue education in order to help him reach his full potential.  I believe he needed the necessary fundamental skills to build upon through his educational career.  I decided that I should help other parents speak up for what is best for their child. 

 

By becoming an informed voter, citizens can advocate for issues which are important to them.  It is essential to understand the legislative process to know where to begin with the advocacy process.  In order to be an effective advocate, it is crucial to understand the rules and procedures of the state and local government.  There are different ways of advocating  to affect policies like lobbying.  It is essential to become as informed about the legislative process to determine the best option to advocate effectively (Kieff, 2009).

 

 

In order to be a state leader on early childhood issues, it is essential to understand and track legislation.  The bills, which are proposed, need to read and understood by state leaders on early childhood issues.  The state's legislator's office has copies of bills and committee reports that can be given to individuals upon request.  The Library of Congress is also an excellent resource to receive information about the status of bills and which bills have been through the process (Kieff, 2009).

 

I am currently a member of the Local Interagency Coordinating Council (LICC), Judy Center Steering Committee, Special Needs Advisory committee.  I work with the Health Department, educators form different schools, YMCA, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) in order to reach families with children and advocate for quality early childhood programs.  Unfortunately, my community does not have many quality early childhood programs, especially programs for infants.  I have aligned myself with individuals which believe in the importance of quality early childhood programs fro all families that have young children of all abilities that have young children of all abilities and backgrounds.  I have the opportunity to immobilize others through the various committees and organizations where collaboration takes place.

 

 

The advice I would give to a person interested in taking a leadership role advocating for young children and their families is aligning themselves with organizations which have a connection to young children and their families.  It is essential to understand what the community has to offer families with young children.  The families with young children need to feel respected as the first teacher in their child's life, I would also suggest the person gets to know the culture of the community they are working in.

 

Most importantly, the person should stay current with the policies effecting young children as well as their families in the community.  The last piece of advice I would give to a person interested in a leadership role in early childhood is remember to smile.  Individuals tend to gravitate to someone with a smile on their face and a more willing to open up with them.



 

 

Kieff, J.  (2009).  Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson.

 

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Personal Advocacy Reflection

 

My youngest son is currently in third grade with a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder/ Autism Spectrum.  When my youngest son participated in the infants and toddlers program, he attended Head Start.  During the IEP development meeting, one person on the team helped me understand that it was not the end of the world if my son needed the services special education had to offer in order for him to reach his full potential.  The person made sure I was comfortable with the services he would receive in order to reach his full potential.  The person was able to sympathize with me due to the fact that they also raised a son with unique needs.  The person ensured my voice was heard during the meeting concerning the educational needs for my son.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Reflecting on My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

I really enjoyed the valuable suggestions to make me more well-rounded early childhood professional in order to better advocate for young children and their families.

 

I appreciate learning from my colleagues' experiences.  Different state have strengths in various areas of the early childhood system.  I used the best aspects of the different states to create an early childhood system which can serve the young children and their families.  I have learned that the state I reside in is not the only state finding ways to successfully met the unique needs of young children and their families.

 

History is essential for developing a comprehensive early childhood system.  I have learned that understanding the history allows me to become more intimate with my community.  A comprehensive early childhood system can be as effective as what is needed in the community.  I can learned what worked in the past to modify them for the future.

 

 

I plan to continue to find ways to engage families of all backgrounds to participate in their young child's education.  Early childhood education needs to be deemed as a respected profession by society.  I would like to continue to identify more ways to educate our society of the importance of investing in early childhood education to ensure our future.

 

 

I would like to thank Dr. Thomason for all of your encouraging words.  I would like to thank my colleagues for sharing your experiences with me.  Good fortune in all of your endeavors!





"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-