The Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress (MDSC) believes that informed, involved parents are the best educational advocates for their children with Down syndrome. Although educational advocacy is an incredibly important job for parents, we also recognize that, for some, it’s a very challenging one. To that end, the MDSC offers parents and educators who work with students with Down syndrome accurate resources and information necessary for developing strong educational programs that will meet the individual needs of each student.

Parents are an important part of the IEP team for many reasons:

• Parents have knowledge of their child in out-of-school settings that can aid assessments, target setting, planning curriculum activities and managing behavior
• Parents can support curriculum targets with out-of-school activities
• Parents can suggest and provide materials and topics to support learning in school
• Parents can help pupils to generalize the skills learned in school to everyday life
• Parents are often very knowledgeable about the development and education of children with Down syndrome - they can be an expert resource
• Parents value the support that they receive from education professionals

In order for your child to receive the high quality education and supports he or she needs and deserves, it is important to build and maintain a strong, positive relationship with everyone who plays a key role in educating your child. We believe children benefit most from their education when parents and educators work together as partners, and each perspective is heard and considered.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is a process.
Working together is success.” ~ Henry Ford