I have seen Joanna and her team work tirelessly for children and families. RI Advocacy for Children is a valuable resource for parents. Don’t fight the system alone, get the knowledge, expertise and experience from these advocates. You won’t be disappointed.
Mary Lou helped us find common ground with our son's school district. Prior to having her, we felt the school talked down to us. They always made us feel as though our son's learning differences were due to something we didn't do. Sine working with us, the tone in the meetings has improved tremendously and we feel more empowered to advocate for hos needs.
Mary Lou 's knowledge of the educational system has helped us and many others navigate and advocate for children with special needs.
So happy I found Joanna and MaryLou. This is honestly the first time since my daughter has been in school that I feel comfortable going into an iep meeting. Their combined knowledge of the school system, teaching, ieps, and parents feelings is such a relief. Very excited to work with them now and in the future!!!
Joanna and MaryLou were extremely helpful thus far in navigating the IEP process for my daughter. They assisted me in creating a very comprehensive and organized IEP binder. They coached me on crafting emails and responses that communicated my frustration, disappointment and disgust with the school’s lack of participation and unwillingness to accommodate our daughter. MaryLou’s presence on the virtual meeting to discuss the shortcomings of virtual learning completely changed the tone and response from the school. For the first time, the school took my issue seriously and treated me with respect. Her presence in the meeting clearly communicated that I am not backing down, nor going away, nor giving up on my daughter. I highly recommend them both and this organization!
RIAFC has been a wonderful resource! Mary Lou has helped us immensely in our pursuit for a better learning environment for our daughter. We would definitely recommend their services.
Joanna and MaryLou helped me during a difficult time when dealing with my daughters public school. Their knowledge, support, and understanding of what my daughter needed to succeed was invaluable!
Their passion to advocate for children and parents is amazing!
Rhode Island Advocacy for Children is a source of strength during trying times in the process to gain supports for children with special needs. Knowledgeable of how the system works and what your child’s rights are for a free appropriate public education.
I had contacted Rhode Island Advocacy for Children after 3+ years of trying to get my son the placement he needed. His school could not provide the services my son needed and was covering up the fact my son was way behind, he was been labeled a disciplinary problem even though he was the one bullied and was physically abused several times by other students. The last attack happened a month ago and left him with a severe concussion and hearing issue. My son's school district had broken the IEP & 504 law repeatedly and tried to cover everything up and always made excuses or blamed him. Rhode Island Advocacy for Children went far and beyond what I had expected and provided 100 % fantastic service. Joanna Scocchi and Linda Kortick , came with me to my IEP meeting and they were successful in working with the school to change my son's placement to where he needed to be! With Rhode Island Advocacy by my side they were all of a sudden doing the right thing! My son is now on the road to recovery with much stronger education supports – something that I had tried to get from the school for years and years! If it was not for Rhode Island Advocacy for Children I don't believe I would have gotten a private placement from the School district and I would have ended up removing my son from school permanently and just given up! Thank you both for working so hard. I came to you desperate, hopeless, frustrated after years of getting nowhere and I entrusted you with my son's education and safety. You made sure you took that to heart as if my child was your # 1 priority! To anyone who needs support: honestly believe you can trust Rhode Island Advocacy for Children because they do have a heart of gold and don't charge gold prices. Their fees are reasonable because I called other advocates and talked to a lawyer about this before reaching out to Rhode Island Advocacy for Children. A lawyer that specializes in IEP & 504 laws gave me an idea of what they would charge for my son’s case and it would have been easier and cheaper to pay for the placement out of pocket then fight the school!
If you tried to fix the problem alone like I did and got nowhere, do not wait 3 years and call Rhode Island Advocacy for Children as soon as possible If you didn't start fighting yet, it would be easier to call Rhode Island Advocacy for Children first because you'll probably be ignored and your child is the only one to suffer ! Thank you.
Joanne,
I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for helping us with out daughter.
When we called you in a panic about the troubles we have been experiencing with our Daughters school, you reached out immediately and even changed your schedule in order to meet with us.
You have taken the burden off of us and the overwhelming stress it takes to deal with our daughters school.
We didn’t know what questions we should be asking and what our rights are for her special educational needs, We don’t understand the terminology that is being used or if our child is getting all these services she requires.
We are so thankful that she has an you and your team as advocates working on her behalf.
From me crying every night not knowing what I can do. To me being able to rest knowing your going to fight for our child.
You have taking a huge weight off my shoulders and have educated us on what we can and still need to do to help our daughter.
Thank you so much for hearing us and helping us. I want you to know your services are truly appreciated.
Sincerely
S. G., parent of elementary school child in Warwick, RI