WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Special Needs Support Center is looking for volunteers to advocate for children with special needs who attend schools in the Upper Valley.
Special Education Advocacy volunteers help parents understand and navigate IEP/504 plans, which are programs developed to insure students with special needs get necessary assistance with their education. Volunteer responsibilities include attending meetings with parents and educators to help them get on the same page.
“Every case is different, however, in almost all the cases is that breakdown in communication between the family and the school,” said Kathy Alriedge, of Hartland, who has been a volunteer advocate for more than five years. “Something isn’t working.”
The Special Needs Support Center, also known as SNSC, has seven advocacy volunteers and is looking to recruit more, said executive director Kendra LaRoche. In the last year, they’ve taken on 42 cases. Training is provided and all volunteers have the support of SNSC staff, as well as mentorship from more experienced volunteers. They meet monthly for training programs and to talk over cases.
“We start them with one case at a time until they’re comfortable with moving forward,” LaRoche said. “They are volunteers. They can say no if they’re uncomfortable with a case.”
Families are referred to SNSC advocates by school districts or other organizations. They also hear about the program via word of mouth from other parents or come across advocacy services while attending another program at the White River Junction-based nonprofit organization. There are three times of year that LaRoche identified as “high times” for advocates: the beginning of the school year, after students return from the holiday break in January and at the end of the school year.
“Those are transition moments,” LaRoche said.
Both LaRoche and Alriedge said that they’ve noticed an increase in behavior plans for children after they returned to school from remote or inconsistent learning during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. More children have struggled with social interactions. The number of cases advocating strictly for academic support have decreased.
While having a background in special education is helpful for volunteers, it is not a requirement. Many advocates have a background in special education or are parents of children with special needs who have familiarity navigating the system, like Alriedge.
“My child had a really tough time in school and there wasn’t really anyone who could help me,” Alriedge said. “Once my children grew up, I really wanted to help other parents.”
Alriedge, who is semi-retired, is currently working with 12 families. Of those, she speaks with four families weekly while the others check in once a year. Before meetings with school officials, Alriedge will speak to parents about what they want to say and give advice on how to best express it.
“It always makes a difference when parents have another person sitting at the table with them,” Alriedge said.
Sometimes parents need to understand what their rights are and how to advocate for them; sometimes they need to understand a school’s limitations, including what’s possible and what isn’t, LaRoche said.
“To hear that from a neutral third party is much easier (than) to hear it from the school because the school may or may not be trusted by the parent,” LaRoche said.
In addition to attending meetings — most of which are virtual — Alriedge researches therapists or other schools, and passes that information on to parents.
“These families (that) are dealing with a child with special needs are already tapped out,” she said. “Sometimes they just need someone to listen to them.”
Those interested in becoming a volunteer advocate or learning more about the program can email Lillian@snsc-uv.org. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
