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 MoreI recently wrote an article on Why Family Can Be the Most Challenging Advocacy Conversations. Not only did the content strike a chord with readers, it also generated much conversation about the importance of setting boundaries.
Readers had questions on how to set boundaries, share these boundaries with others and enforce boundaries. This is also a hot topic with my coaching clients when it comes to their professional and personal lives.
Since I spend a lot of time talking about boundaries, I wanted to share some tips to help you set and respect your boundaries.
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 MoreHave you ever advocated for your child only to have your words twisted and facts distorted to the point where you question what’s true? Sadly, one real challenge that way too many parents and caregivers face when advocating for their kids is gaslighting.
Wikipedia defines gaslighting as “manipulating someone into questioning their own perception of reality.”
Learn how to prevent this from happening to you or responding when it’s clearly gaslighting.
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 MoreJust the thought of a new school year gives me anxiety. Anxiety about the change in routine for my child. Anxiety about having to explain and fight for their needs to a new teacher. Anxiety about starting yet another round of advocating for my child.
While many parents and caregivers have some level of anxiety about a new school year, this anxiety is heightened when you have a child with disabilities.
Read MoreWhen people hear the word advocacy, too often they think of lobbyists or formal advocacy at a national level. While there’s a place for this type of work, often the most successful and impactful advocacy starts at the grassroot level. Don’t underestimate the power of grassroots advocacy.
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Cynthia Lockrey is a change maker + communications expert.
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