In my first two posts, I shared about how parents can use social media and online tools like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to boost their advocacy efforts. This week, I share my personal experience of how letters and emails can effectively boost advocacy efforts for your kids with learning disabilities (LD) and others like them.

By far the most effective advocacy tool for my two kids with disabilities is letter and email writing. True, I am a professional writer, but even if you're not, putting pen to paper (or actually fingers to keyboard in my case) is something that you can do.

Letters and emails have two major pluses. They are free and personal!
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As someone with Asperger’s, I have noticed that, now, when I mention to people that I have Asperger’s, they tend to ask questions such as, “Are you Rain Man?” and “Do you have emotions?”

I’d like to offer a different perspective on what it means to have Asperger’s (slated to be placed under the umbrella of “Autism Spectrum Disorder” in the newest edition of the DSM). Despite all the grief that it has given me, it has been a positive part of my life. One characteristic of Asperger’s Syndrome is “limited empathy.” Apparently, I’m supposed to have a hard time understanding the needs and emotions of others. I feel that my experience has been contrary to that idea; Asperger’s has made me a kinder and more caring person who understands what it means to struggle and wants to make life easier for others.
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We’re always adding new content and features to LD.org so that you can quickly find the content that matters for your family. Today, we’re pleased to announce the launch of a new section of our site: E-Books. The section brings together all of our e-books, toolkits, and guides which give you all the information you need on a specific topic in one easy download. Read More >

Education funding. Teacher quality. High school graduation rates and requirements. Keeping students safe at school. These are the issues that matter to parents—and just a few of the education-related matters the 113th Congress will be grappling with this year. What happens in Washington can make a big difference in your child’s life, and NCLD is here to help you make sense of what’s going on and take action that can protect the rights of your child and others with LD. Join NCLD on February 20th from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. for a webinar that will inform you about the key education and disability policy issues the Obama Administration and Congress will be focused on in 2013, and help you understand the impact possible action could have on your child’s education. Read More >

The road to a strong Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for your child can be confusing—but it doesn’t need to be. My first five tips for the IEP process focused on ways I have exercised my children’s rights, by doing things like getting draft versions of any IEP or evaluation and putting requests in writing. Here are five more ways to get your child with LD what he needs as the IEP is created and implemented.
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