Loy58, in-person advocacy seems overwhelming to me at times - I don't really have the personality for it, my nature is to be a people-pleaser. I've found that the things that help me the most are similar to what aquinas mentioned - I think through my goals before a conversation/meeting, I outline the strategy I plan to use ahead of time, and to be honest - I put as much as I can in writing so I don't have to worry about forgetting to add something or being too scared to mention something when we meet in person. What's in writing might be simply something I keep with me as a reminder of what to cover - *or* - it might be something I give to the person(s) I am talking to. I also find that with people (teachers especially) as busy as they are in general, email works well for many things - so one way to approach advocacy is to outline what you are asking for in an email and then follow-up with a personal contact at drop-off/pick-up etc and mention the email. Note - there are times when email *doesn't* work - for all sorts of reasons. If you don't get a response from the person you sent it to, you might never know for certain that it was delivered or if it was delivered if the person is ignoring you or is just busy. An overly detailed email might put off a teacher depending on their personality, where a too-brief email might not accomplish what you're hoping to accomplish.
I hope that makes sense!
Best wishes,
polarbear
