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Advocacy
& Education
Advocacy
and the Schools
Many
parents find that the entry of their child
into the school system thrusts them more
than ever into the role of advocate for
their child. The pages below offer
basic information about the special
education process and the Individualized
Education Plan (IEP) to aid parents in their
navigation of it.
Advocacy
and the Government
Your
opinions, expressed publicly, can influence
these kids' futures - from the services they
receive to the research done into their
treatment. For example, 6.5% of children
suffer from a chronic disability, and 44% of
those are caused by acquired brain injuries,
the focus of BRIGHT.
There are
four million births in the U.S. annually,
260,000 annual cases of disability, with
115,000 caused by brain injury. Premature
births are increasing at an alarming 12% a
year. Advances in neonatal care are
preventing mortality, but poor neurological
outcome often results. The average life
expectancy with brain injury is 40 years,
with a $4,000,000 lifetime care cost. The
total burden to society is $10,000,000,000.
And yet, research funding does not reflect
this.
Addressing
this gap between impact and funding is a
major goal of BRIGHT. Of course, we hope
that you will consider a donation to help us
continue our work, including the direct
funding of promising research projects. But
please also consider writing your U.S.
Senators and Representative to encourage
them to address this gap in spending by the
National Institutes of Health.
Below is
a free service that allows you to
locate your federal representatives. You can
also locate state representatives,
local officials, federal and state
agencies, and media contacts, find
out how your senators and
representative voted, get updates on
a variety of political issues, and
post your opinions. It looks to
us like a pretty good service.
Let us know if you find it useful.
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