Richard is a 20-year-old young man who just graduated from Harry Truman High School in the Bronx! Richard’s mother called AFC’s Helpline last spring because Richard was struggling to finish his last few high school credits and pass the two remaining Regents exams he needed to graduate. Though Richard had been receiving special education services since kindergarten, he had not been evaluated in five years and was not receiving the help he needed in reading and writing. Richard’s academic difficulties had left him extremely discouraged about school, and he was reluctant to continue attending.

Advocates for Children first worked to get a new special education evaluation, which showed that Richard had fallen very far behind in reading due to a language disorder. With that evaluation in hand, we successfully advocated for one-on-one tutoring to help Richard build his literacy skills, as well as assistive technology and testing accommodations to support him on his exams. With the right support in place, Richard was finally able to cross the finish line and earn his diploma!