Tips & Strategies: Advocating for your Autistic Family Member
Advocating for your Autistic family member's needs is an important, but sometimes overwhelming, part of making sure our loved ones receive the care and support they are entitled to. Autism Nova Scotia created this resource that lists tips and strategies for being an effective advocate.
It includes information on how best to prepare for and communicate during meetings for your family member. The concepts covered in this resource are more fully discussed in the “An Advocacy Journey: A Caregiver’s Perspective” webinar.
Scroll down for additional resources.
Additional Resources
AIDE Canada Resources:
- An Advocacy Journey: A Caregiver’s Perspective
- My Life & Story: All About Me – Advocacy Resource
- Becoming a Self-Advocate: Perspectives and Challenges Webinar
- Your Rights and How to Use Them – Disability Rights Toolkit
- Understanding Education Rights in Canada: A toolkit for parents in the Autism Community
- Disability Rights Collection
- Improving Communication Between Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and/or Developmental Disabilities and Primary Care Physicians: The My Health Visit and About My Health Tools
- Transition to Adulthood Services: Continuing to Foster Self-Determination, Choices and Self-Advocacy
- Negotiating the Maze: Strategies for Effective Advocacy in Schools
- Joyce and Chris’ Story: An Indigenous Mother’s Advocacy
- Dr. Stephen Shore discusses Disclosure & Self-advocacy
- Transition to Adulthood Services: Continuing to Foster Self-Determination, Choices and Self-Advocacy
AIDE Canada Library:
“Championing your autistic teen at secondary school : Getting the best from mainstream settings”
By Debby Elley with Gareth D. Morewood; Foreword by Peter Vermeulen.
“Can’t not won’t : a story about a child who couldn’t go to school”
By Fricker, Eliza
“Notes for Neuro Navigators : The allies’ quick-start guide to championing neurodivergent brains”
By Jolene Stockman
Sources / Additional Resources:
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital:Advocacy Tool Kit for parents of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs)
- March of Dimes Canada: Political Advocacy Toolkit
- Government of Canada Youth Secretariat Guide: Get ready for advocacy
- Autism Alliance of Canada
- CNIB: Legal Information Handbooks
- Citizens for Public Justice Public Advocacy Toolkit: 6 Tips for Effective Advocacy
- Indeed Canada: How to Advocate for Yourself in the Workplace (With Tips)
- Understood: 8 steps to advocating for your child at school
- Disability Rights Florida: Ten Steps to Being an Effective Advocate
