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ABSTRACT
Parents of students with disabilities often receive support from special education advocates, who may be trained through a variety of programs. Using a web-based survey, this study examined the postgraduation advocacy activities of 83 graduates of one such volunteer advocacy training program. In the one to four years after program graduation, 63.8% (53 of 83) of the graduates advocated for one or more families; these sustained advocates reported stable rates of advocacy over time, and advocates performed activities that were either family-focused or school-focused. For graduates who advocated post-training, amounts of advocacy were positively related to satisfaction with advocating and with higher levels of involvement with other advocates and with the broader disability community. Compared to those not advocating after graduating, sustained advocates reported greater advocacy-role identities, increased involvement in disability groups, and higher likelihood to advocate in the upcoming year. Future research and practice implications are discussed.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Melanie Hart, Lynise Parisien, and the VAP Advisory Council for their help in developing and disseminating this survey. Elise McMillan and Elisabeth Dykens have been particularly supportive of the VAP and this study, and the authors would also like to thank the VAP participants who, in addition to completing this survey, have also committed countless hours to helping families of students with disabilities.
Funding
Support for this research was provided by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133P1100004), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30 HD15052), and a grant from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Nicholas Hobbs Society.