Advocates for students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) face numerous challenges in efforts to improve conditions for these children and youth. Politicians and policymakers push for quick, “sound-bite” legislative responses to complex problems in education. Teachers and administrators, frustrated with the job of trying to educate these students in an era when schools are under intense scrutiny, sometimes resort to interventions that range from ineffective to legally and ethically unsound. The media tend to focus on the negative and sensational, not the success stories of these students. This article describes major challenges to advocates in three areas—legislative and judicial, educational, and media—and offers suggestions for effective advocacy in each area.
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