Advocacy for Children & Young People with FND
When your child has FND, you may find yourself having to advocate for them in ways you never expected.
As a parent or carer, you know your child better than anyone. You may be the person noticing changes in their symptoms, recognising when they are struggling,
explaining what they need, and making sure their concerns are heard.
But advocating for a child with FND can be incredibly difficult, especially when you are also trying to understand FND yourself. You may find yourself having to explain
FND to schools, healthcare professionals, or other services. You may feel that your child’s symptoms aren’t being understood, or that people don’t fully appreciate the impact FND is having on their everyday life.
You shouldn’t have to navigate this alone.
Supporting You to Advocate for Your Child
At Together We Rise, we want to help parents and carers feel more confident when advocating for the children and young people they support.
Our resources can help you to:
- Understand what self-advocacy can look like for your child
- Prepare for appointments and important conversations
- Organise your thoughts and concerns
- Identify what support your child needs
- Communicate your child’s experiences clearly
- Ask questions and request appropriate support
- Feel more confident when speaking with professionals
- Help your child develop their own voice and self-advocacy skills as they are able to
Advocacy on Your Behalf
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you may still feel unheard. You might have tried explaining your child’s needs, raised concerns, or asked for support and feel like you’re getting nowhere.
This is where our advocacy support may be able to help.
Where appropriate, Together We Rise can support parents and carers by advocating on behalf of their child or young person, helping to communicate concerns and needs with relevant professionals and services.
This may include supporting communication with healthcare professionals or other relevant services, helping to explain the impact FND is having, sharing appropriate FND information, and helping ensure that your child’s needs and experiences are being listened to.
Our role isn’t to speak over you or your child. It’s to help make sure their voice is heard.
Your Child Deserves to Be Heard
Children and young people living with FND can face misunderstanding, uncertainty and frustration, particularly when their symptoms are difficult for others to understand.
As a parent or carer, you shouldn’t have to constantly feel like you’re fighting to have your child’s needs recognised.
Whether you need help preparing to advocate for your child, want resources to support you, or feel that you need someone to advocate alongside you, Together We Rise is here to support you.
You know your child. Their voice matters. And they deserve to be heard, understood and supported.