Off the Fence
Disability Advocacy
by
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Diversity & Expectations “Understanding is much deeper than knowledge. There are many people who know us, but very few who understand us.” I’m always finding inspiration in the many quotes I see on my FaceBook page. This one pretty much slapped me on the head this morning. It’s the perfect introduction to a topic I think needs to be explored. First of all, parents of children who have disabilities are not all the same. We are as diverse as any other group. We come from different backgrounds, have different expectations, different home situations, different views of the world and a whole host of other differences. We probably have more bad hair days than most people because our kid’s needs usually come first. Much the same as people classify our kids, they tend to do the same with us. But we see things from where we’re sitting in the bleachers. When we’re new to all this, we’re down there sitting in the first row and we can only see what’s there on the bottom. We can look up and see the sky, but we can’t see what’s beyond very far. As we progress and learn more, we get to move up in the stands. Our view becomes wider and we’re able to see more. Our understanding grows. Our perspective may change. We may move up a few rows and not like what we see, so we move back down to safer territory. At any given time, there will be parents sitting in all the rows, but never all on the same row.
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About the Book
In 1987, when Pat Linkhorn found herself raising two daughters with special needs, she had to rely on letters to get the information she needed. These days, the process of finding information for children with disabilities is much more straightforward. In this collection of writings, Linkhorn shares a personal account of her experiences and offers advice on dealing with the various issues that she encountered through the years.
Linkhorn hopes to help parents of special needs children find the humor amid the absurdity of life. Join her as she recalls navigating the choppy waters of serving as an advocate for her children and others with special needs. She offers advice on making decisions that benefit special needs children; dealing effectively with agencies, committees, and people; and telling your story in a way that generates attention.
As the mother of one autistic daughter and another who was born prematurely and is blind, Linkhorn has dealt with and worked for numerous social and educational agencies devoted to helping special needs individuals for more than twenty years. No longer constrained by agency rules and guidelines, she is off the fence and she tells her tale of survival and victory and explains how the system really works.
About the Author
Pat Linkhorn has worked for twenty years with parents of children with special needs. She has written articles for numerous special needs publications, many of which have been used by universities to teach special education teachers. She lives with her husband and two daughters in a small town in Ohio. They have fourteen llamas, three cats, and one dog. Visit her online at http://www.patlinkhorn.org.