Building Bridges without Dynamite

My own life's journey has included learning about advocacy.  I've learned that advocacy is a very misunderstood word and can invoke feelings of apprehension and angst.  I've learned that effective advocacy is actually about the three R's - Respect, Resilience and Relationships.  Embracing these key characteristics of advocacy have helped me grow personally and also created many new friendships.

Respect.  Advocacy is about respect for the teacher and the school/district administrators and other parents.  

Resilience.  There are times in a parent's advocacy journey when our own emotions feel overwhelming as we reflect on our child's learning differences and the mountains we still need to climb.  In despair we may not know where to turn and want to give up.  Figuring out how to channel these emotions into resolve is part of the advocacy journey.  

Relationships.  A key to building good relationships is to accept people for who they are and where they are at in their life's journey.  This is something I learned from my mother and it has paid off in my life.  This applies to teachers, administrators and even other parents.  This is about giving grace. 

I also need to give grace to myself. Every journey has a beginning and I need to accept this in my own learning journey.  Otherwise, the more I learn about giftedness the more I'm likely to pile on the self-guilt about what I could have done differently as a parent if I'd only known then what I know now.  Grace is a powerful gift to one's self.

Every journey has a beginning.  Come join our workshop, our space of grace, and begin your journey of effective advocacy for your gifted child.  Whether it's learning how to communicate better with a teacher or district administrator or trying to decide how to find a gifted program that matches your child's learning differences, come join us and we will grow together.

Click here for registration information.