There are two key stepping stones to success for every stage of your child's journey from birth to adulthood.

Stepping Stone #1: Contact Your Family Support Agency to Get Connected

The first step is to contact the family support organizations that serve your child's age group and disability. You are not alone, and taking this first step gets you connected to an entire community that can support and guide you through the rough spots.

Even more important, this community will join with you to celebrate all the magical moments (big and small) you will experience with your child along the way.
Parenting any child is one of the toughest jobs on the planet; the special challenges in parenting a child with disabilities bring with them a lifetime of special and unexpected rewards.

Connecting with your community's resources early allows you to tap into the collective wisdom of all the parents and families who have made the journey before you. It shows you the big picture of where you are going before you get into the details. It can save you many wrong turns and false starts and give you access to professionals who understand the complicated rules and procedures, your rights, and the best strategies.

These agencies will also link you to supportive families in your area and provide you with ongoing support, training, and guidance on how to navigate through the maze of paperwork that is an unavoidable part of the landscape in special education and adult services.

And, if you have trouble getting all the opportunities your family member needs to succeed, the family support agencies you contact will link you with groups (such as the Parent Information and Disability Rights Center) that can help you use mediation and even legal steps to get what your child needs.

We are fortunate that New Hampshire is blessed with many wonderful and dedicated educators, agencies, and professionals to serve you. But getting the supports your family member needs and is entitled to is often neither simple nor easy.

In fact, because the system is so complicated and tax dollars so limited, the reality you face at every step is that your child will rarely be provided all the supports he or she needs without you specifically asking for them. You have to be prepared to work diligently to get all the supports your child needs. This begins at birth getting the early supports for your child through the key transitions to preschool, the elementary grades, middle and then high school, and finally to a whole new group of agencies providing supports after the age of 21.

Contacting the family support agencies enables you - from the very beginning - to ask all the right questions and in the right way and at each step of the way. It is the best place to start.

Stepping Stone #2: Build Strong Relationships with Your Core Support Agencies

The second key stepping stone is to build strong relationships with the schools and agencies that have the primary responsibility for supporting your child at each age. You will have to build effective partnerships with these organizations for your child to get the support she or he needs for a successful journey.

This is an ongoing process. You will have to build new partnerships as your child progresses up through the grades to post-secondary education and adult.

You should make contact with the agencies a year before their primary responsibility begins to avoid surprises and to bring them "up-to-speed" on your child's gifts, challenges, and aspirations. You will find that the agencies will appreciate you taking this positive step and that it will pave the way for a successful transition.

The availability of supports and how you access them varies from area-to-area and from age group-to-age group. In most cases, there is no single point of entry to all services-or a single agency that provides all the services your child needs.

Be prepared. The paperwork and rules are tricky and different at every stage of the journey. Because many agencies do not have enough resources to meet all the needs (and some have waiting lists for services), it often takes patience, perseverance, and diplomacy to get the opportunities and support you and your child need-even if you are technically entitled to receive them.

The good news is that New Hampshire has some of the best school programs and support agencies in the country. The progress that has been made is truly amazing, and children with disabilities have opportunities today for living full and productive lives that were unavailable 35 years ago. Unlike the past, you are no longer alone in your journey. Today, there is an extensive network of professional, caring individuals and organizations and fellow travelers who are dedicated to helping you and your family.

Thank you for allowing Stepping Stones NH help you in your journey.