Empowering Our Children: Navigating ACT Accommodations and Advocacy Success Stories!

BOOM!! BANG!!! POW!!! SHA-BANG!!!! 

Village, I shared with y’all at the beginning of the week that SDYM wrote a letter to his tutor at the test prep center and used AI to help him organize his thoughts and state his logic clearly…after his tutor didn’t understand a request he made Monday night.

Well, SDYM was attempting to inform the tutor that he has a pre-recorded audio accommodation for the ACT.

Essentially, the ACT will send the audio of his test to the school and SDYM will listen to all parts of the test instead of reading it.

The goal is to ensure he can have his knowledge assessed with as few barriers to the accurate assessment as possible…EQUITY.

So, after SDYM sent the email, the Director of the test prep center contacted me.

They had never had a student who used audio accommodation.

They didn’t know the accommodation existed.

I explained the accommodation to her.

Then, she asked me to get a letter from the ACT board stating his accommodation and she would send it to headquarters because she didn’t know of anything in their curriculum that supported this accommodation.

But, she assured me that the company was committed to meeting every child’s needs and with a better understanding of the accommodation, they can design an intervention to best support SDYM.

The ACT Accommodation Department is in my speed dial now…(I know they’re about sick of me ).

So, I was able to call them and have a letter generated and sent less than five minutes after the Director’s request.

That was Tuesday afternoon.

SDYM goes to the test prep center for two hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Well, last night, SDYM came home from tutoring and told me that the center printed out the practice test questions and he was able to listen to the test questions via audio on his computer.

He feels accomplished and heard and I feel grateful that God has consistently placed people in our lives, who have moved mountains…QUICKLY…to help My Baby WIN!!!!

The added blessing is all the advocacy we do for SDYM informs service providers and makes a smoother path for the families that they engage with after experiencing US!!!!

The resources are there.

Good people are there.

Opportunities are there.

Our children can and will WIN!!!

So, Build Bridges.

And, Create Allies!!!

Parenting is not a journey meant to be taken alone.

It really does take a Village. BOOM!!!!

Now, we are off to give this day our ABSOLUTE BEST…as we are preparing for “WHEN” SDYM is admitted into Florida A&M University!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not “If” but “WHEN”!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praises to The Most High!!!! #CelebratingToday because #ItsAlreadyDone