New York City, NY, Special Education and Family Peer Advocates

[Jenn Choi]

We are Rachel Ford, Amber Decker, and Jenn Choi.

Just like you, we are parents to children with disabilities. We understand the frustrations and challenges you face because we face them, too. Our goal is to empower parents with strategies to help their children access special education services, disability-specific community resources, benefits and entitlements, social events, wellness and recovery activities, self-help sessions, and mental health services.  

Ultimately, we want parents to emerge from this process confident to advocate on their own. While we encourage parents to take the lead, please know we are always here to negotiate with school and other agencies on your behalf.

For all of our clients, we pledge to:

• Offer intake and comprehensive discussions on goals and barriers under a culturally competent umbrella, in person and over the phone.
• Ensure that shared decision-making and respect are ongoing themes in seeking services.
• Assist our clients in developing a significant voice in planning, development, and evaluation of services needed and currently in use for their children.
• Provide instructional support to foster advocacy strategies through skill-building, role-playing, and communication templates for parents and providers.
• Share informational support and research concerning disorders, treatments, and services in the community, at the local department of social services /schools/ preschools, public and local councils, coalitions, and affiliates as well as other applicable local or state services.
• Remain affordable. We aim to keep our rates modestly priced, while still being able to support our own families. We also provide a sliding scale option to those who qualify based on income, particularly single parents.

We voluntarily subscribe to the Code of Ethics for Special Education Advocates developed by COPAA.

Our accomplishments noted by the media and community 
NYC School Refusal Survey
Parents of Special Education Students Say the DOE Isn’t Sharing Meaningful Data. So They’re Collecting It Themselves
NYC Special Education Teacher Shortage Survey