A great blog written by guest bloggerDanIgnaszewskiabout self advocacy. He brings up several great points about how to advocate.

How to Be a Good Advocate

By Guest Blogger DanIgnaszewski, Director of Government Relations and Development, theAmputee Coalition

At the Amputee Coalition, we advocate for the limb loss community on policy issues and also encourage and empower amputees to advocate for themselves. The Amputee Coalition works on a variety of issues, including adequate insurance coverage for prosthetic devices, Medicare and Medicaid, funding for research and programs that help the limb loss community, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, Social Security disability benefits, veterans issues and reasonable travel procedures for amputees, among others. This article is meant to provide insight and tips on how to be a good advocate for yourself, your cause and your community.

Advocacy is the process by which an individual or group aims to influence policies or practices; it is, by its very nature, the art of standing up for yourself to make a positive difference in your circumstances. You can advocate for your personal life on many fronts, and you can also work with groups to advocate for the larger community by getting involved in policies and regulations at the local, state or national levels.

Every day, you have opportunities to be an advocate. Whether its calling a service provider to try to reduce your monthly payments, dealing with travel issues with flight or baggage delays, or even addressing your healthcare and insurance needsyou always have an opportunity to stand up for yourself. Its important to know how to be your own advocate, so that you can ensure you are treated fairly and appropriately and that you are getting the device(s) or service(s) that you need.

Regardless of whether were talking about healthcare, insurance, service providers or any other arising issues that may require advocacy, its important to remember a few very important things:

Be Prepared and Take Notes!

When you call a company regarding a situation youre facing, make sure that you can take notes on a computer or notepad or have someone take notes for you if youre not able to.

• Start with the date at the top of your notes, so you can reference it later if needed.
• Have bills, letters or resources in front of you, so youre prepared to discuss your situation with all of the applicable information.
• When you first talk with someone, he or she will likely give you his or her first name.Write it down.Its always helpful to be personable in a conversation, and when you can use the persons first name, it creates a connection. If you ever get disconnected or need to have subsequent conversations, it also helps to be able to look back at your notes and say, I spoke with so-and-so on this date.
• Take notes throughout the conversation regarding important points that you make and the response you receive from the person on the other end; this will help you refer back to things, if needed, and can provide a recap if you end up needing to speak to a supervisor or another party.

Dont Get Frustrated, Be Polite

When dealing with a difficult situation, youre often passionate, invested and want a resolution quickly, but the first person you talk to may not be able to help you. This is not unusual. When you call an insurance company to resolve issues about your coverage, the first person that you talk to may not be aware of the device or service you need.Dont let that faze you.Its important when seeking answers to be firm and direct, but as courteous and pleasant as possible.

The first person you talk to regularly works with a lot of upset people. When youre pleasant and respectful in your request, you will often find that those first points of contact will want to help you more than if you had approached them in a combative way. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate everything youre doing for me and Youre making my day are all phrases that will likely elicit a positive response. You will usually get further with them than if you are disrespectful or combative.

Be Firm, Be Reasonable and Work to Ensure Your Needs Are Met

Make your case, explain your situation and tell them what your expectations are. For example, if youre calling the cable company after an increase in your monthly bill, tell them that you are looking to reduce your payments to a specific number that youre comfortable with or that you were previously paying. Then, work with them to get to that figure or negotiate a rate that is reasonable and meets your expectations.

If youve spent some time with the first point of contact in trying to resolve the issue, and he or she is still are not able to resolve the situation to your satisfaction, respectfully ask if you can speak to a supervisor. A polite way to do so is by saying, I really appreciate your help and understanding, but if its possible, I would like to speak to a supervisor to see if he or she might be able to help me a little more. You will often need to go through some of the same points that you made with the first person you talked to (this is where your notes and patience continue to play a key role). Restate your expectations and ask how he or she can help you through your situation.

For more information about the Amputee Coalition, what we provide, what we do and how you can make a difference for people with limb loss, visit our website atamputee-coalition.orgor like our Facebook page atfacebook.com/AmputeeUSA.

Dan Ignaszewski is the director of government relations and development for the Amputee Coalition. He is responsible for developing the positions of the Amputee Coalition on public policy issues and integrating public policy development with grassroots organizations aimed at implementing strategy. Dan works on federal and state issues, including the Amputee Coalitions primary legislation, the Insurance Fairness for Amputees Act. Expanding the government relations footprint in recent years, he also works on funding for limb loss initiatives, research, veterans issues and other issues affecting the limb loss community.

Source: http://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2014/09/24/how-to-be-a-good-advocate/