For the past several years, CEDSA has become an informative and powerful voice for students with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and their families. At CEDSA, we strongly believe that every child deserves a chance to succeed in a school setting, and we work with schools so their offer of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) meets the needs of the student without undo cost or problems for the school.

CEDSA has many highly qualified education professionals that are in place, so that the education advocate can have the proper tools and knowledge to understand your child’s specific needs. With EDS the needs of one child in the family may drastically differ from another who is in the same household. Because of this, the educational needs can be different and so can the eligibility of the students.

When working with the school and family, the advocate will always listen to both sides and weigh out what they feel is in the best interests of the student and helps both parties to understand why. Most of the time the parents do ultimately know what is best for their child and the school struggles with understanding the impact EDS has on the student. The main cause for this is the day to day differences in the condition and how this condition is “invisible” meaning often the child does not appear to have anything wrong.

Your advocate will attempt to help the school understand the needs of your child and the impact that EDS has on his/her education. They will also work to help the school avoid the common mistakes that many schools create in writing appropriate plans that are to help your child in school. These mistakes can land the school in legal trouble with the state or federal education investigators if someone should file a complaint against them.