Self-Advocacy and Educator Resources

Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy involves being able to identify your needs, understanding your rights and communicating effectively. In the early years of your child’s life, you as a parent have an important role in advocating for the rights of your child with a brain injury. As your child grows older, it is important that your child learn self-advocacy skills so he/she can advocate for needs when you are not around.

Self-Advocacy Characteristics

From Independent Living Research Utilization

General Resources

• What is Self-Advocacy, and Why is it Important?
  By Center for Parent Information and Resources
• Advocacy Tool kit: Skills and Strategies for Effective and Peer Advocacy
  By Brainline
• Self-Advocacy for Independent Life (S.A.I.L.)
  A Project of the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado

Identifying Your Needs

• Speak Up! Self-Advocacy Worksheet
  From NYC Department of Education
• My Personal Self Advocacy Plan
  A worksheet from Connecticut State Department of Education (click here to view document in its entirety)
  Worksheet 1, Worksheet 2, Worksheet 3

Communication Skills

• Strategies to Improve Communication After a Brain Injury
  By Brain Injury Partners

Navigating Resources

There are a number of organizations who help families get connected to resources and services. Some of these are listed below.

Brain Injury Alliance of CO

• The Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado is the go-to resource for help and services for survivor of an injury to the brain, their families and providers. Click on “Kids with Brain Injury” on the top navigation bar for more specific resources for children/youth and their families.

HCP

• Supports families with a child who has special needs (ages birth to 21) to help connect them with services, provide information and address questions.
  (Brochure English, Brochure Spanish)

PEAK Parent Center

• Supports families of all disability conditions to ensure they have access to strategies to best advocate for their children.

Parent to Parent

• Parent to parent support for families who have a child with health needs or a disability.

The Arc of Colorado

• Provides advocacy services for families.

Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP)

• Provide family centered conferences to provide support and education to parents as well as professionals.

Disability Law Colorado

• Affordable legal services on civil or human rights for individuals with a disability.

Early Intervention Colorado

• Support services for children (0-2 years) who have developmental needs.

El Grupo Vida

• Support for Spanish speaking families who have a child with special needs.

Visit the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado Resource Directory

Educator Resources

Website Resources

• Brain Injury Alliance Of Colorado - Brain injury resource navigation and educational consultation.

• Brainline - A national multimedia project offering information and resources about preventing, treating, and living with TBI.

• Brainline For Kids - Information and resources for families and educators.

• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention - Basic information, data, statistics, reports, fact sheets. etc. on TBI and concussion.

• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention – Heads Up - Provides tools to help educators, coaches, providers, and parents recognize, respond to, and minimize the risk of concussion or other serious brain injury.

• Centre For Neuro Skills - A monthly update of brain injury news.

• Get Schooled On Concussions - Offers a series of one-page concussion fact sheets for teachers, administrators, school nurses, counselors and parents.

• Lash And Associates - Information and resources on traumatic brain injury, concussion, blast injury, and PTSD.

• National Association Of State Head Injury Administrators - Information on brain injury and juvenile justice systems/corrections, state special education definitions and resource materials.

• Project Learnet - Assists parents and teachers to identify useful procedures to help students in school and at home. Instructional videos are utilized to teach material.

• TBI Center On Brain Injury Research And Training - Brain Injury Education Resources

Presentations

• Brain Injury and Behavior By Wendy Adams Ed.S., NCSP and Dr. Karen McAvoy
• Juvenile Justice Workshops By Gavin Attwood, Liz Gerdeman, Patricia Colella, Judy Dettmer, Karen McAvoy, Kristy Werther, Max Winkler, and Jessica Dupuy
• Brain Injury 101 By Judy L. Dettmer
• Instructional Strategies for Elementary Students with TBI By Susan J. Roland
• Instructional Strategies for Secondary Students with TBI By Randy Thomas
• Brain Injury and Executive Functioning By Rachel Toplis, PhD and Dr. Jonelle Neighbor
• Intervention for Students with MTBI By Donna Detmar-Hanna & Karen McAvoy

On Demand Learning

• What is Brain Injury?
• Youth Considerations at Home and in School
• Children can Learn about Building a Healthy Brain
• Challenging Behavior and Executive Function (video modules)
• Brain Injury: Special Education Criteria and Social Emotional Intervention
• Eligibility and School-Based Inter-Disciplinary Assessment and Intervention: A Common Sense Approach
  • Part 1 – Understanding Brain Injury and the Colorado Academic Standards
  • Part 2 – Typical Impacts and interdisciplinary Team Approach
  • Part 3 – Special Education Criteria
  • Part 4 – Assessment and Intervention Overview and Resources