MHAAC Education Advocates help:

• Families of children who have a mental health disability.
• Students up to the age of 21 who have a mental health disability.
• Professionals in the education and human service fields.

MHAAC Education Advocates help by:

• providing individual assistance to those who need help navigating the special education system.
• providing information about rights in the special education process.
• troubleshooting general concerns about a student's school experience.
• helping to make a request for a special education evaluation.
• attending meetings or mediation.
• helping families obtain mental health services or supports in the community.
• offering workshops and trainings to professionals, parents and students on mental health and self-advocacy.

Download an Education Advocacy brochure

How can you use our services?

Give us a call at between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and one of our two Education Advocates will assist you.

Is there a cost?

NO, there is no cost associated with our services.

What should you expect when you call?

Our advocates will ask you a few questions to better understand your needs and what we can do to support you.

Still unsure if MHAAC can help?

Call us anyway! Although our main focus is individuals with a primary mental health diagnosis, we can answer general questions about special education. If we cannot help you, we will refer you to a program that will best suit your needs.

Contact one of our Advocates today at 412-661-7860 or toll-free at 877-391-3820.

MHAAC has two experienced Education Advocates on staff to help you.

Lyndsey Cowan has been an Education Advocate at MHAAC since October 2007. She has a background in Public Relations and Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. She is currently pursuing a Master's of Education degree in School Counseling from Duquesne University.

Lyndsey supports families of students in the following Allegheny County school districts: Pittsburgh Public, Duquesne City, East Allegheny, Gateway, Penn Hills, Plum Borough, Riverview, Steel Valley and Wilkinsburg.

Ali Rendulic, M.Ed. has been an Education Advocate at MHAAC since September 2011. She has a background in Special Education from the University of Maryland, and has worked as a classroom teacher.

Ali supports families of students in all remaining school districts in Allegheny County.

When it comes to the special education process, it is important to put all requests in writing and keep copies of everything. This is helpful down the road if questions arise about decisions made in meetings or dates that requests were made. 

Below are some sample letters of common requests of parents involved in the special education process. You may use these samples as a guide to make the process a bit easier.

Sample Letter Requesting an Initial Special Education Evaluation

Sample Letter Requesting an Independent Evaluation

Sample Letter Requesting an IEP meeting

These samples are provided courtesy of the Education Law Center, a great resource on education rights and regulations.