THE ART OF EFFECTIVE COMPLAINT
Complaining. We are brought up to believe complaining is
impolite, so it goes against our nature to speak up when we are dissatisfied.
When you are parent
to a child on the spectrum, you have to learn to be an advocate for
your child’s rights. Unfortunately, you also have to learn how to fight and
complain. To learn how to voice your
opinion, in an effective way is important, hence our section on advocacy, but
when it comes time to complain, who do you complain to?
We are presenting
this section in the hopes it will provide some strategies and direction of whom
to aim your “beefs” at.
Good luck to all of us!
Not sure you know
enough to file an official or anonymous complaint? Learn your rights in plain
language here:
Or get your IEP analyzed here. Then you can brush up on some Due Process Hearing Decisions here.
The parent’s initial telephone call to the special education attorney is almost always precipitated by an emergency situation. Wrightslaw included an article entitled "Emergency! Crisis! Help!" in a recent issue. Also included was a fantastic piece entitled "Playing 20 Questions with the Devil (or How to Handle Disagreements During IEP Meetings)" by Sonja Kerr, Esq.
NOSSCR
Social Security Disability benefits or SSI benefits are available for some children with autism in the US. SSI ebenfits are payable if the child is disabled and the family is underprivileged.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to get a private attorney to represent a child applying for SSI benefits, but many states have set up special hotlines where parents can call for free legal help (pro bono), this is in addition to legal
services offices, where available. More importantly, the Social Security
Administration provides benefits that are called Disabled Adult Children's benefits. These are
for adult children who have been disabled since prior to age 22, and whose parents, who have worked, are
now retired, disabled, or have died. These dependants benefits provide the support (or some of it)
that the parent can no longer provide. They are not means tested. Many parents (and many attorneys) do not
know about them, but they can provide some measure of comfort for the parent who is wondering how
their "child" will survive when the child is an adult and the parent is no longer around.
NOSSCR has a referral service for claimants looking for a private attorney (and we can also give a
caller the hot line number for the SSI children's benefits). The referral is free; the attorney
will charge for the representation if the claim is successful. The number is 1-800-431-2804. Our
e-mail is
NOSSCR@ wordnet.att.net, and our website is www.NOSSCR.org.
Do you have any complaint strategies? Please submit to us through the "Contact Us" function to be included in our "Real Stories from Real Parents" sections! We never print identifiable information.
7: November 23, 2001