As the mother of a special needs student, Wendy Harris knows what it's like to have to advocate for a child in the public education system.
When her son was in Grade 1, he was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disorder. He also has autism and other developmental challenges, but even after his diagnosis, he faced months of waiting, with little classroom support.
"He only had an SEA (special education assistant) for two 20-minute periods a day, and this is in Grade 1, going into Grade 2," Harris says, explaining how parents of children with special needs often have to wait out bureaucratic red tape to get the support they need.
Harris is among a provincewide group of parents hosting the Special Education Parent Network day, which is being held at F.W. Howay Elementary in New Westminster.
The New Westminster District Advisory Council is putting on the event, along with the British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils.
"We are getting registrations in from Abbotsford, West Van, Vancouver, all over the place," says Harris, who chairs the local district parent council and is secretary of the B.C. Confederation of Parent Councils. "As a parent, it's always good to meet other parents . a lot of times you feel you might be alone. How do you meet other parents with (special needs) students, unless there is another child in your child's own classroom?"
The conference will offer parents a chance to find support and information.
"The idea behind it, and we have two pilot days - one here and one in Nanaimo - is to have a day that focuses on special ed, special needs, so that parents can come and spend a whole day, and then they can network with other parents," Harris says.
The event will kick off with keynote speaker Maureen Dockendorf, B.C.'s superintendent of reading. There will also be workshops with topics that include sexuality, independent education plans, advocacy and anxiety.
If the events in New Westminster and Nanaimo are successful, the B.C. parent council will help make it possible for at least one Special Education Parent Network day to happen in every school district in the province over the next two years, according to a press release.
The New Westminster event is being held on Saturday, April 6 at F.W. Howay Elementary School, 91 Courtney Cres., from 8: 45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include lunch. For more information, visit www. specialedparentnetwork.myevent. com. www.twitter.com/nikimhope
