Inspirational Quotes for Parent Advocates

Being an effective advocate for your child with special needs is exhausting, sometimes frustrating, and rewarding. I compiled a list of quotes that I hope will be inspirational to you.  Some may pick you up when you feel like giving up, some will provide you with hope, perhaps you will have an epiphany, whatever the case may be, read each quote with an open mind and let the words guide you.

• "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." ~John Wooden, UCLA basketball coach
• "A good education is the next best thing to a pushy mother." ~Charles Schulz, cartoonist
• "In Chinese, the word crisis is comprised of two characters.  One represents danger and the other represents opportunity." ~John F. Kennedy, President
• "Parents have become so convinced that educators know what is best for children that they forget that they are the experts." ~Marian Wright Edelman, educator
• "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." ~Benjamin Franklin, inventor
• "Do the hard jobs first.  The easy jobs will take care of themselves." ~Dale Carnegie, motivational speaker
• "Underlying all assessments are a respect for children and their families, and a desire to help children.  A thorough assessment should allow us to learn something about the child that we could not learn from simply talking to others about the child, observing the child, or reviewing the child's records." ~Jerome Sattler
• "In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education." ~Brown v. Board of Education
• "If the children are untaught, their ignorance and vices will in future life cost us much dearer in their consequences than it would have done in their correction by a good education." ~Thomas Jefferson
• "...whether the IEP and the FAPE requirements were put there out of mistrust of the parents, or out of mistrust of school authorities.  It seems to me they were put there to make sure that the school authorities did not give the disabled child second-rate treatment." ~Florence County School District IV. v. Shannon Carter (Transcript from an Oral Argument)
• "Education is a critical national security issue for our future, and politics must stop at the schoolhouse door." ~Bill Clinton, former president
• "It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes all the difference." ~Bear Bryant, football coach
• "If you're sure you can't, you won't.  If you think you can, you might.  If you know you can, you will." ~Fable
• "I am only one; but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  I will not refuse to do the something I can do." ~Edward Everett Hale
• "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
• "Every survival kit should include a sense of humor." Anonymous
• "I was one of the 'puzzle children' myself-a dyslexic...And I still have a hard time reading today.  Accept the fact that you have a problem.  Refuse to feel sorry for yourself.  You have a challenge; never quit! ~Nelson Rockefeller
• "Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible." ~Howard Schultz

REMEMBER, YOU ARE YOUR CHILD'S BEST ADVOCATE!!!

References:

Wright, P. & Wright, P.D. (2010). From emotions to advocacy. Hartfield, VA: Harbor House Law Press.

Canfield, J., Hansen, M.V., McNamara, H., Simmons, K. (2007). Chicken soup for the soul: Children with special needs. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.

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