Tag: BC Education

Getting ready for IEP Season – Legally

Here is a list of relevant human rights decisions that can assist you in your advocacy at IEP time.

Among decisions from hearings are decisions not to dismiss complaints and have them proceed, which are also relevant. It shows what will be considered a human rights complaint and gives you an idea of what your advocacy options are.

Self-Advocacy

A topic that often comes up in IEP meetings is self-advocacy. What does the Human Rights case law say about advocacy for kids with a disability?

Student (by Parent) v. School District, 2023 BCHRT 237

[90]           Generally, it is the obligation of the person seeking accommodation to bring forward the relevant facts: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 SCR 970. This can be challenging for children, and especially challenging for children with invisible disabilities. I agree with the Parent that children who require accommodation in their school are in a different situation than adults seeking accommodation. Though they have a role to play in the process, that role will be age and ability-specific, and the burden cannot be on a child to identify and bring forward the facts necessary for their accommodation.

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  • Age specific
  • Ability specific
  • Burden is not on the child to identify and bring forward the necessary facts for their accommodation

Self-advocacy is an important skill for children to develop, but we need to be realistic about the environment they are in. I give you this blog: Self-Advocacy and Victim Blaming in Education

Denied an EA?

The Student (by the parent) v. The School District, 2025 BCHRT 17

[1] In April 2022, the Parent made a complaint against the School District on the Student’s behalf. The complaint alleges that the School District discriminated against the Student regarding its services based on the Student’s mental disability. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the School District failed to accommodate the Student by not providing him with an Education Assistant in one of his classes.

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  • We know from this that if you feel your child is not being properly accommodated for their disability-related needs by not having access to an Education Assistant, it may be possible that your human rights complaint will be accepted by the tribunal.
  • You can use this case in your advocacy
  • The school district would have to be able to justify its decision not to provide your child access to an EA and that they were still reasonably accommodating your child. Documenting your child struggling and not equitably accessing their education is key. Provide this evidence to the district with this case.

Professional Recommendations

[66] The Child alleges that the School Board lost or did not read many of the reports that were provided to them, and that as a result, the recommendations contained in those reports were not incorporated into their IEPs. Therefore, they say, the Child’s disabilities were not properly accommodated. The Child says that had the IEPs been developed in line with the medical and psychoeducational recommendations contained in the reports provided to the School Board, their Parents would not have had to intervene with private support services in order to keep the Child at grade level. They say that because the recommendations in the reports were not incorporated into the Child’s IEPs, the Parents were required to provide the Child with tutoring, vision therapy, and auditory therapy, along with other interventions.

[68] The School Board admits that certain of the recommendations contained in the psychoeducational assessment and other medical reports were not included in the Child’s IEPs. However, the School Board says that the IEPs developed for the Child “are consistent with the recognized supports for students with a learning disability like dyslexia within British Columbia.” They say that many of the recommendations from the psychoeducational assessment report in particular were specific to programs available in Colorado, not in BC. They say the IEPs that have been developed for the Child were consistent with the Child’s Ministry of Education designation and “the information regarding [the Child’s] learning needs”, including the provision of a learner support teacher as well as modifications implemented by the classroom teacher. They note that the Child’s progress reports indicate that they have progressed “well” and “overall at grade level”.

[72] While the School Board took steps through the IEPs to accommodate the Child, based on the materials before me, I am not persuaded that they are reasonably certain to prove they took all reasonable and practical steps to remove the disability-related barriers faced by the Child. This allegation will proceed.

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  • The school is taking a risk of you filing a human rights complaint and having it accepted if they do not consider the professional recommendations that you are providing them.

Not Following the IEP

[70] …..The Ministry says IEPs do have a legal effect and function, as there is a valid legislative and policy framework that provides both authority and guidance for IEPs.

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To read about the legal effect and function of an IEP please read this blog, IEP – They aren’t just words on a Page

Meaningful Inquiry

The all-important duty to consult is very applicable to IEP meetings.

Read about the Duty to Consult, which is protected by the Human Rights case law. You are protected and backed up by multiple forms of written authority.

They Must Not Give Up

X by Y v. Board of Education of School District No. Z, 2024 BCHRT 72

[120] Ultimately, on a balance of probabilities, I am satisfied that the District discharged its duty to accommodate X in his grade 2 year by reviewing the Diagnosis Report, developing an IEP, making various support people and strategies available that were incorporated into the classroom and outside, reviewing progress and changes, and adapting its approach in response……

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  • By developing an IEP, reviewing progress and adapting their approach, they can justify reasonable accommodations.
  • So you can ask them to give you examples of this being done.
  • Blog on this case.

NOTE:

Climate Change of Education

We are experiencing the climate change of education.

The lakes have dried up. Food resources are scarce. The weather is harsh and unforgiving. We move to another territory, adapt, or die.

Parents are fighting for the scraps of resources that are spread over a very scarce landscape.

It’s creating stress. Desperation. Mental health issues. Tension between all parties. Survival instincts are in full swing.

You want your child to survive in this climate, you’ll need to fight for it.

A truth that has always been true: those who advocate are more likely to get their needs met. No one is ever going to hand you anything. And I can tell you that if you want your kids’ needs met in education, you will need to advocate. You will need to learn, to research, to study, and grow as an individual to advocate for your child.

That truth has intensified in today’s reality. The scarcity in education has hit hard.

I remember being told my child will have to wait over 6 months for some kind of screening reading test. We were in a state of crisis, and for some little screening test…wait over 6 months?? omg. I thought I was going to rip my face off.

The professional who was supporting my child wrote a letter recommending a psych-ed assessment, and I contacted a district person above the principal. The result was that my child was now bumped up and was booked for the screening in 2 weeks. I sat in front of the professional, telling them how horrible I felt. What about all of the other children who now had to wait longer because my child jumped the line? What about the kids who didn’t have a parent advocating for them? The whole situation made me sick.

He gave me some spiel about how to never feel bad for advocating to the full extent for my child. I am the only advocate my child is going to have.

The horrible parts of how our society is structured are that we compete for resources. We fight it out. It doesn’t feel very good to know that other kids will get less, because your child gets more.

I fucking hate the systems for putting parents in this situation. Sticking us against each other. Vile.

We were dealing with another situation years later and I wrote an effective email to the district. The next day my child had an EA in the class for them. I wondered where in the world this EA came from, and now who is going without?

School districts will sometimes try to guilt-trip parents into compliance and acceptance. Well, if we gave your child an EA then so and so over here wouldn’t get any.

I do want to offer you some comfort that if you ever file complaints, you are now involved in systemic advocacy. Your child and their experience become part of the data collection, and it will raise awareness of just how dire the situation has become.

I have no regrets about filing all of the external complaints that I have. It got my kids what they needed and brought forward decisions parents are now using for their own advocacy. Peace. I am willing to live with the guilt and uncomfortable feelings I have around my kids getting more than others, so that they have a chance in life. Our whole system needs to change. But for right now, for today… if we wait for everyone to get their needs met together, we will be waiting for the rest of our lives. Your child doesn’t have time to wait. The time is now. Fight for them. They need you.

I like the meme I see sometimes on social media. “Choose your hard.”

It’s hard to advocate.
It’s also hard to watch your child suffer.

Choose your hard.

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Advocacy Tools

For those of you who are struggling to get your child EA support, I offer you this human rights decision to support your advocacy.

For those of you who are struggling with teachers following IEPs, I offer you this human rights decision to support your advocacy.

For those of you who are struggling with getting schools to accept professional recommendations in your IEPs, I offer you this human rights decsion to support your advocacy.

And as always, the Duty to Accommodate

The Cocoon – A Rest Stop

There is a grounding exercise where you take a breath and list things you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. There are a TON of free guided meditation videos on YouTube. I used to do these with my kids a lot. Sometimes focusing on the now, and just the next 5 minutes, can be what is needed.

Sometimes the caterpillar needs to cocoon for a while and rebuild.

I have been talking to a lot of caterpillars.

There will be days when breathing is enough. When thinking long term is overwhelming and it just feels like there is nothing but mountains ahead.

Advocacy is a marathon.

You will need to figure out what you can sustain and how you can sustain yourself.

Stepping away from the fight can also be self-preservation. It can also be the right decision for right now.

I know I write a lot about advocacy and systemic change. Not everyone needs to be doing this, or will be in a position in their life to be engaged in this work. It might not be right now. It might be later. After the break. After the healing. When you feel ready. Or never. Everything is temporary in life and fluid. We can’t anticipate what we will have the capacity for in the future or not.

Choosing the cocoon isn’t giving up. Sometimes staying to fight is a one-way ticket to total destruction.

Choosing to leave one lily pad and jump to a different one can be… these are the cards you have been given, and you are doing the best with what you have got.

If you need permission to leave toxic environments in search of healthier ones and live your best life, you have got it. Go ahead. Focus on the now. Make your child and yourself the priority.

For those who cannot make choosing the cocoon a significant change. Think in the now. In the next 5 min. Find 10 minutes a day where you can cocoon. What would that need to look like for you?

Intersectional Lens – Disability

I am White, ND and Disabled. I have been blogging for years about disability. Speaking Up BC lacks an intersectional lens. That is a gap in what I am providing people and a disservice to anyone who is marginalized and discriminated against due to their race, colour, ancestry and place of origin.

While I am currently at a loss for how I can provide an intersectional lens through my writing to communities I don’t belong to, the only thing I come up with at this point is to provide a platform for their voices and help share their stories.

I am sharing a blog that was written by Moms Against Racism. This is the intersectional lens that is ever so needed.

Children who are racialized often slip through the cracks in the system. The features of their disabilities are blamed on stereotypes and bias. However, White children are identified as needing assessments earlier because of the stereotype, “White children don’t behave like that; clearly, there is something more going on here.” Punishments for racialized children are more severe. They are more under surveillance and judged harsher. The results are that they are pulled into the criminal justice system, and then society blames them and views this as a “character flaw”. It’s not. It’s systemic oppression and discrimination.

Thank you, Moms Against Racism, for writing this really important blog! Please share widely! These are voices that need to be heard.

Brilliance Misread: How Schools Fail Racialized Neurodivergent Kids

School District Lawyers = Birds of Paradise

If you file a human rights complaint, you will be engaging with the school district’s lawyers. Sometimes, they may already be in the background, whether you realize it or not.

When you think of school district lawyers, I want you to think of “birds of paradise”. I have stated before how much I love watching animal documentaries. I swear, you can learn so much about the concept and rules of life by studying other animals. At the core, we are all so similarly driven. Anyhoo, watch birds of paradise and their mating dances. It’s comical. Each species has its own unique dance and they are hilarious and absolutely fascinating to watch.

The lawyers and school district staff also have their own dance, but it’s the dance of trying to intimidate you. Their dance routine becomes predictable. All of their moves come from the same engine. They want to have power over you and be in control.

So I have been given the incredible opportunity to engage for a long time. It has allowed me to study them. Talking to so many people who have been through the process and you see the same pattern of behaviour over and over. Now I get to pass along all of this knowledge to you.

Here is what their dance moves look like.

  • They will use the power of numbers, bring a lot of staff or lawyers to meetings, and overpower you with numbers.
  • They will use body language like buttoning up their suit jackets as they puff out their chest, or a number of non-verbal cues to indicate power. Everything will be designed to indicate class and power. (Insert eye roll)
  • They will intentionally use language they don’t think you will understand in hopes of overwhelming you and send you the message that you are out of depth. (You aren’t. They make it appear that way.)
  • They will ignore you or do things to make you think that your issues aren’t important to them, and they are squeezing you in. They will be dismissive.
  • They will blame the victim.
  • They will analyze and comment on your behaviour.
  • They use shame and embarrassment in hopes you will leave.
  • They will send you legal letters to scare the poop out of you.
  • They do all this thinking that they can have power over you, and you will do whatever they want.

Sit back and watch the show. It’s all part of a dance. Just like how the birds practice over and over how to put all their moves together in the right order, so do the lawyers and school district staff. It’s a show that they are taught and practice.

See it for what it is. It’s a dance.

Here are some of their foundational beliefs.

  1. They think parents are tired, overwhelmed and scared.
  2. They think you will not have time to advocate or if they make it uncomfortable, you will stop
  3. They think that a relationship with your child’s teacher is important to you, so you will highly value that.
  4. They think that you are concerned about how people think about you
  5. They think you possibly have anxiety/PTSD, and you will be easy to poke and manipulate. Or just because this is your kid will be highly emotional and therefore easy to manipulate.
  6. They think the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and if given the opportunity, they will use your own disability/neurodiversity against you.
  7. They think they are always right and they are the smartest people in the room. (LOL)

So the good news is that they are wrong A LOT.

There have been 2 parents in recent years who took their cases to a hearing. I can tell you, they didn’t believe that would happen. They were waiting for the parents to quit at any moment, and that didn’t happen. They were WRONG! Staff, plural, have been forced to retire because of a human rights complaint.

The lawyers have not always been able to protect their clients. Every time they are wrong, it’s because they are underestimating parents. Every. Single. Time.

They don’t understand that we can be tired, overwhelmed, scared, emotional and still have the capacity to fight like hell.

They think they are so sure about all of their assumptions about parents. But the only information they have to assess people is information they have access to or information parents are willing to sprinkle out as bread crumbs, hoping they pick them up. They don’t know what they don’t know. If they can’t connect the dots, then they will be quite shocked when the hearing completes and the parents don’t give up. They have their bias and stereotypes to guide them too.

OR – They are running quite the scam. I haven’t figured out which. They either don’t care if they are making a mistake, but figure the district is going to listen to what they tell them, and they drag things on just to make more money for their law firm. So the lawyers think either their clients are easy to manipulate or the parents. Maybe both. Who knows.

I am open to others’ thoughts on the topic. Who thinks they are wrong and who thinks they are running a scam?

I have met soooo many people seriously contemplating taking their case to a hearing. You all are not alone!

I used to be insulted that I was so underestimated. But now I have realized how much it helped me out. You can use it to your advantage. Sometimes it’s better for you if they don’t see you coming. Especially in the early stages. Play innocent and document document document.

When I started out on the first human rights complaint I filed, I felt like the mother in True Lies. Played by Jamie Lee Curtis. I forget the character’s name in the movie. But there is this scene where she drops the gun, and it falls down the stairs and she ends up wiping out all of the bad guys. Her husband (Arnold Schwartzenger) looks at her impressed by her work, and she sheepishly shrugs. That’s what I felt like. Like I was tripping over my feet just constantly trying to figure things out, and somehow I was wiping out the bad guys.

I have very much evolved and grown through this process. Definitely had the opportunity to sharpen my advocacy skills. This is a chess game. Once you figure out the rules, you’re just watching their dance.

I give you birds of paradise. Enjoy!

School Board Meetings

It is that time again for school board meetings to begin. Many of the districts offer online access. You can email them to be added to their link mail out and be at your home in your PJs watching or listening. Some board meetings aren’t anything extraordinary, and some are absolutely fascinating! I highly recommend getting to know your Trustees and senior administration staff.

They have a question period at the end, which is mostly timed, and you may need to submit your questions beforehand.

I have learned a lot by watching board meetings. It’s interesting to see how they all interact with each other. Some districts are more lively than others. Some districts make the news due to their inner fighting.

During the Chilliwack School District, “School Trustee was seen smoking and drinking at Zoom meeting” – Global News

The Vancouver School District has made the news a few times. This article was written by The Tyee – “Closed Door Meetings, a Police Call, a Stalled Motion”

If you file a Section 11 appeal, it is the Board of Education that you will be making your case to.

They will post the documents related to the meeting so you can look through them. Even if you want to look at previous agenda items, you can go back and look at them all. They post their financials on the district website too, and the all-important Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) that needs to be posted by the end of each year. You can see how much money each district is spending on legal fees. If it’s over $25,000 they must list it. (I have been tracking the largest districts over the last few years).

It’s really important that we understand what is going on inside our kids’ districts. We need to be informed.

Who we vote in as Trustees can have a huge impact on our kids’ education!

For another blog related to school board meetings, I recommend the blog Group Think

What is the Ask? Email Writing for School Advocacy.

Before I jump into the theme of this blog, I do want to mention that if you email someone in the district (head office) and you don’t cc: the principal, the email you send to the district will be sent to the principal of your kids’ school first. They will check in with them before they touch base with you. You might as well cc: the principal in the email anyway, and appear transparent and working in good faith.

I can’t tell you how important it is to get really good at emails. Email is a tool in your toolbox. Knowing how to write emails and who to send them to and include, will help you. For example, to decrease the chance of someone ignoring you, include more than one person in an email. For more info about emails, read Inclusion BC’s manual and Family Support Institute’s email guide.

Always remember that any email you send can be sent to anyone in the district, can be sent to their lawyers, and could end up in a hearing. Emails are not private conversations.

Ok, now back to asking.

A very common thing for people to do when advocating is that they are not clear with their ask. They spill out an emotional story and are often all over the map. (No judgement. I have sent these emails too.) Then they end their email. The reader is left wondering what you are actually asking for. Some people don’t know what they want. All is very common.

What exactly do you want?

When do you want it?

How do you want this to happen?

Putting a clear ask in an email is very important and often overlooked unless you intentionally focus on it.

At the end of every email you send, if you want the school to take action on something, you are going to need a clearly defined request.

I even suggest you explicitly state things that are time sensitive. “This is time sensitive”. There are things that you can be explicitly clear about. The clearer you are, the better, for all involved. Putting a date of when you would like to hear from them can also be helpful. “Could you please respond to me by Friday, September 26th?”

If they are ignoring you, I suggest this page. How to Deal with Schools Giving You the Silent Treatment.

Some emails, it’s unclear if you are even expecting a response, or if you’re just venting at the person or telling them off (which I don’t suggest). If you want them to respond to you, you can say something like, “I look forward to your response”, or I would greatly appreciate a response within the next 3 days.

My suggestions for an email format is:

  1. Start off with a connecting statement. (I hope you are well/thank you for your previous email; I appreciate your follow-up/etc)
  2. State the facts of what has happened. (facts only)
  3. State your concerns (thoughts, feelings, opinions)
  4. State your ask (what do you want to have happen)
  5. End with an appreciative closing statement (I look forward to meeting with you and discussing this further/thank you for your support/etc)

It’s really important that we are very clear on what we are asking for. If we aren’t getting the response from the school, it could be that they aren’t clear on what we are asking for or expecting from them. You want your communication to be ridiculously clear so they can’t wiggle out of it. Even if it seems ridiculously obvious to you what you want from them, just be ridiculously clear.

Never make assumptions, and no one can read your mind.

If you child is telling you things, you need to make that clear. Johnny told me…… Do not assume that you have the whole story. Quite often, you will not. Don’t automatically accuse the teacher of what your child has told you. You will need to do some investigating and be a detective first. So, your first approach is to be curious and inquire, seeking more information. You don’t want them to be defensive and shut down on you. A carefully crafted email could get you the information you are looking for before you make decisions on how you want to resolve the situation.

Never make assumptions.

A blog I highly recommend you read and consider when engaging with education staff is the blog 5 Rules on how to be Untouchable

A mug I saw on social media that makes me laugh. “Dance like no one is watching. Email like it will be read out at a tribunal.”

Post-Secondary Human Rights Complaint Settlement Offer

This is a case that involves a nursing student at a post-secondary institution.

Student D v. Selkirk College, 2025 BCHRT 178

[2]               Student D was a student in the Bachelor of Nursing program at Selkirk College. She alleges the College discriminated against her in the area of services on the grounds of mental and physical disability contrary to s.8 of the Code. She says the College failed to reasonably accommodate her disabilities which negatively affected her academic performance, and she ultimately withdrew from the program.

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This is a dismissal application, but it’s a specific type of dismissal application. The respondents offered her a settlement offer that can be disclosed to the tribunal. It is called a “with prejudice” offer.

If you offer a settlement offer to the respondents and you don’t want it to be disclosed to the tribunal, you need to write “without prejudice” at the top of your email/offer.

If you turn down a with prejudice offer, the respondents can file a dismissal application that ultimately forces you to accept the offer. The only way to not accept it is to convince the tribunal that your case is worthy of the time and resources of the tribunal for a hearing, as it will benefit the public interest and potentially make case law advancements. Or you can just not accept it and walk away with nothing.

This case can also give you ideas on what kinds of things you can ask for in a mediation meeting.

This is an important case to read for young adults in post-secondary.

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[7]               Student D has achondroplasia, generalized anxiety disorder, and auditory processing disorder. In September 2017, she started a four-year Bachelor of Nursing program at the College. Student D says that between April 28, 2020, and July 14, 2020, during the practicum portion of her program, she made requests for accommodation to her instructors and school administrators who failed to provide her the requested accommodations. Student D withdrew from her program on September 21, 2020.

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This is what she was offered, which she turned down. She felt the amount was too low. And so now the tribunal has to make a decision about allowing it to continue to a hearing or not. Respondents cannot file this kind of dismissal if the hearing is within the next 4 months.

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[9]               On February 3, 2025, the College made a with prejudice offer to settle the complaint on the following terms:

a.    The amount of $20,000 for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.

b.    The amount of $24,394.30 for lost wages, less statutory deductions, representing a delay to potential graduation from the Bachelor of Nursing program by one year, less her average annual earnings as a care aide and educational assistant, and less a 30% contingency to account for the potential non-graduation from the program.

c.     The College will provide Student D with a letter of regret acknowledging the distress she experienced in the program.

d.    The College will provide a revised transcript replacing any “fail”, “no credit granted” or “partial credit granted” notations with a “withdrawal” notation. The College will also provide a transfer letter endorsing Student D as a candidate for any nursing programs in other post-secondary institutions.

e.    The College will commit to reviewing its Accessibility Services for Students program and making any updates it deems necessary.

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The tribunal dismissed her human rights complaint and allowed her to accept the offer she originally rejected, if she wanted it. You can read more about how they analyzed the appropriate settlement amount in the case. I haven’t pulled any of that out for this blog. Fighting this type of dismissal is low risk because you can always accept the same offer, even if you lose the dismissal application. Sometimes these are posted publicly, and some dismissal applications are private. But this is also a great way to get a public record of your case.

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[10]           The offer remains open for acceptance notwithstanding the filing of the application to dismiss the complaint. The offer will expire two weeks following the Tribunal’s decision on the application to dismiss.

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And the decision from the tribunal is….

[47]           The Tribunal routinely hears and decides cases that concern disability accommodation in educational settings, and I am not persuaded that the circumstances of the present case engage broader public policy issues that warrant proceeding in the face of a reasonable settlement offer. Further, considerable resources of the parties and the Tribunal would be required for a hearing of this matter. The Tribunal encourages parties to resolve their disputes in good faith on a voluntary basis. The College’s settlement offer contains terms that the Tribunal cannot order at a hearing, such as issuing a letter of regret, providing a revised transcript, and the transfer letter. The College’s offer also includes terms to ensure the discrimination does not occur again by reviewing its accessibility policies and training its faculty. Under the circumstances, I find that allowing this complaint to proceed would not further the purposes of the Code.  

What are you Advocating for?

Schools are required by law to provide your child with accommodations. They are not required by law to remove the disability from your child.

There are parents that feel that if their child is still showing features that are natural to their disability or neurodiversity, it must indicate that the school is not providing appropriate accommodations.

No.

Your child is entering the school disabled at 9am and at 3pm they will leave disabled.

Your child is beautiful. There is nothing wrong with them. Disability and neurodiversity are a natural part of human variation. If we have a society with no disabled people, there is something seriously wrong going on.

Schools provide accommodations, “ramps”. Like a pair of glasses. They don’t “fix” kids and remove the disability from them. Their job is to provide an education, with skills to be able to function the best they can in society. The same as all kids.

For example, if your child stutters and the school doesn’t remove the stuttering and make them fluent, it doesn’t mean the school is failing them. If your kid doesn’t want to participate in “treatment,” it doesn’t mean the school is failing them. If your child is still showing features that are natural to their disability/neurodiversity, it doesn’t mean the school is failing them.

Way back in history it was believed people with disabilities were possessed by the devil. It was believed that if they tortured the body enough to make it unhabitable, the devil (the disability) would leave. People would perform exorcisms, trying to rid people of disability.

We aren’t asking the school to remove the disability or neurodiversity from a child. We want kids to have an equitable access to their education. To be provided with skills and an education so that they can reach their potential. Not to be someone else.

Are you advocating for accommodations, or are you advocating for an exorcism?

Knowing our Rights!! Woohoo!

Ok, so I did want to acknowledge the grief part of being forced into heavy advocacy with law and policy. For those needing that acknowledgement you can read my previous blog Knowing our Rights. The path usually starts off that way, but it doesn’t need to stay that way.

For this blog, we are jumping from grief to acceptance to celebration.

There are many people who have been positively impacted personally from being originally forced into advocacy. They then find out there is something about this that drives them, fills them, and they enjoy helping other people.

I am one of those lucky people.

Some people have become teachers, EAs, OTs, social justice advocates, non-profit professionals, become school Trustees, entered politics, etc, etc, and have gone back to school to start a new career because of their experience.

I consider myself to be one of those positively impacted people, as I have found a career I absolutely love. Out of something that started out very horrible. Like throwing up horrible, never sleeping again in my life, horrible.

I am a health care and human rights legal advocate for people who are extremely vulnerable in society. My clients are among the most marginalized, traumatized, and oppressed people in society. I navigate all of the external complaint systems and work on policy systemic work with teams of dedicated advocates and lawyers. I LOVE IT.

I never ever would have gone back to school and ended up in the profession I am in now if it wasn’t for the shit I had to wade through due to advocating for my kids in the education system. It unlocked something already deep inside me that never had a chance to come out. I love law and policy. I find it fascinating. The social justice and direct client support I do, I absolutely love.

My silver lining.

Some people find out that they actually do love all of this law and policy stuff. That’s right up their alley. That they are actually really good at advocating. Some people have started their own businesses in education advocacy or volunteer to help out others. Some people are really moving and shaking up the system.

Sometimes, we have new, wonderful people enter our lives because of our advocacy. Sometimes, we get to contribute to our communities in ways we never imagined. Sometimes, not all parts are bad. OR at least stay bad.

Knowing our rights is empowering.

Helping other people is a precious part of life. Something to be celebrated.

And thanks everyone for reading my blog series about the Duty to Accommodate. The number of people reading the blogs this summer was intense. Hope some of you enjoyed it!

Knowing our rights!! Woohoo!!