Your Story. Your Voice. Be Heard.
Cynthia Lockrey shares her insights and experience as a patient advocate and her patient advocacy work. Blog posts include topics such as patient storytelling, working with healthcare professionals and advocating for children.
Not only do I spend a lot of time helping people strengthen their advocacy skills, I also spend countless hours advocating for my own family members. While there are times I’d love to shout and say what I really feel, I believe in the saying: you can attract more bees with honey.
This is why I focus on building relationships – even in challenging situations.
Read MoreThis summer, I spent time cleaning out my parents’ basement. Having lived in the same house for over 50 years, it was a treasure trove of old magazines, family photos, expired foods, vases and so much more.
One of the interesting things I came across in my purging was a binder from the 1980s about my brother. I know many parents and caregivers of kids with disabilities are familiar with this binder (I have a few in my house). It’s a summary of letters to the school, medical and therapy reports, assessments, and report cards.
Read MoreOver the last month, I’ve delivered a number of workshops on How to Share Your Story and Advocate for Change. In discussions with participants about advocacy challenges a common theme has emerged – conversations with family members.
While you’d hope that family members would be non-judgemental and supportive of individuals with disabilities, sadly this isn’t always the case. They can be the harshest critics.
Read MoreI consider myself a strong advocate. I take an active role in advocating for kids with disabilities and don’t shy away from asking tough questions.
I’ve taken my advocacy skills for granted until the day I had to stand up for my brother. It realized that what comes naturally to me is a challenge for him. Being raised in the 80s and 90s, he was never encouraged to ask questions, give his opinion or speak up for himself.
Sadly, this is the case for many people with disabilities. While there are now self-advocacy groups and conferences, not everyone feels empowered to use their voice.
Yet self-advocacy skills are key to increasing independence, improving quality of life and creating a truly inclusive world.
Read MoreIn terms of how to get started - it begins with education. It’s an ongoing process of listening, asking questions, seeking out learning opportunities and continuing to grow my knowledge base.
I get this can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t need to be.
It’s not about formal education (although some may choose this route). Rather, it’s looking for the opportunities to expand your understanding of a topic of interest to help in your advocacy journey.
Read MoreIn every workshop I give on How to Advocate for Change, I talk about the power of community. Why? Because I’m a strong believer of tapping into the wisdom and experience of others in your advocacy journey.
Embracing the power of community has been key to many of my advocacy wins. It has also helped me grow as an advocate and mom.
While it might seem like a simple concept, I’m amazed at how many people don’t embrace the power of community. Often because they’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
Learn 4 easy ways to strengthen your advocacy skills by embracing the power of community.
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Cynthia Lockrey is a change maker + communications expert.
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