Four child advocacy professionals will discuss how to be the best self-advocate for children with learning disabilities and special needs at a panel on March 23 at 7 p.m., at the Metuchen High School library, 400 Grove Ave. The event, hosted by the Metuchen Special Education Parent Advisory Council, is open to parents in other school districts.
“It’s not about doing battle with your school district,” said moderator Michele Rosenfield, a Metuchen parent. “It’s about providing parents with as much up-front information as possible so they can be constructive advocates for their children and avoid protracted battles.”
“Our presenters include seasoned lawyers and a longtime educator in special ed, many of whom raised children with special needs themselves,” Rosenfield says. “They’re caring professionals who will help parents learn how to find the best possible resources for their children when being a parent advocate isn’t enough.”
The panelists are retired special ed teacher Robin Gordon and lawyer Deborah Kramer, partners with Your Robin’s Nest, advocates for children with special needs; lawyer Lenore Boyarin, an attorney with Sussan, Greenwald & Wessler, a special education law firm in Cranbury; and Cheryl Martinez, of Ccf Parent Advocacy and Consulting in Hazlet.