Documentation is KEY to your success as an advocate for your child. Absolutely KEY. Without documentation, any success you experience will be due to pure luck.
I have blogs on this topic:
Documentation
Improper Conduct – Hiding Disclosure – What documents to ask for
Why is Documentation so Important?
Evidence of Harm. Effective advocacy in Education
How to Gather Evidence
BCHRT – You need evidence. Hearsay from your child will not be enough.
Getting Documents
But before you get to the blogs. I want to front-load you with this list first.
- Email is the best way to record all important communications. Store and organize your emails. Keep ALL of them. You never know what will be useful. Some people like having a separate email just for communicating with the school. You need to not just document what is not working, but also what is working.
- After a meeting or a phone call, summarize what was said and email them to confirm that you have captured what was said. Give them an opportunity to clarify anything if you misunderstood. Note the next steps or any actionable items that were agreed upon.
- All external complaints require you to try and resolve your issues at the lowest level possible. You will need to send in your emails as evidence that you have made these attempts and that they were unresolved. These emails are going to be what will assist you with getting your complaint accepted by these organizations.
- Without evidence, your human rights complaint will go absolutely nowhere. When people have evidence or there is a lack of evidence of the school doing anything (ignoring your emails, not attempting to provide any accommodations, etc) that will all be needed.
- All external complaint systems need evidence for their decision-making.
- Your emails will trigger certain human rights obligations based on what you say in your email. You will need that information documented.
- If it has not been documented, it is like it never happened. Hearings are years after you filed a complaint. Witness memories fade. But when it has been written down in an email, it is like a diamond. Forever.
- Emails are not private. Multiple people will be reading them and examining them. Write your emails like they will be read out a tribunal.
Now you are ready for the deeper dive into the blogs.
Note: I just want to acknowledge how emotional it is to realize that this feels like another job. That you are entering into another profession. It sucks. I want to hug you. I have been there and lived this. It is uncomfortable to feel like you are creating “evidence”. The parents/caregivers that resist this reality and don’t feel it is necessary to create documentation, to send thoughtful advocacy emails, will spend their years spinning, getting absolutely nowhere. The system will walk all over you because they can. This sucks. I hear that. It doesn’t matter. While you are grappling with this reality, please document. You can feel uncomfortable and document at the same time. Your child needs you to do this. You are either going to feel uncomfortable watching the harm continuing or you are going to be uncomfortable creating a document trail. Take your pick. What uncomfortableness can you live with? Who are you prioritizing? The adults? Or your child? Advocating for your child’s human rights is not being aggressive. It can be done in a very non-aggressive and respectful way. Document. Document. Document.