Director, Yvone Link says the ultimate goal of Parent to Parent Power is that the Asian parents she works with will be empowered to help other Asian parents. Yvone works to help Asian parents meet their basic family needs as well as their needs for information about the educational and legal rights of children with disabilities. She provides support and services primarily one-to-one, acting as advocate, trainer, and interpreter.

I truly value the English language. It is an international language and is considered one of the richest languages of all. An estimated 75% of all the technical and scientific literature is the world is written in English. However, from the standpoint of one learning English, it is a maze - difficult and unpredictable. It gets worse when you add the terminologies of the various professions. In addition, we also have to keep abreast of how terms can change in meaning or interpretation. For example, we no longer say "handicapped people." We say "people with disabilities."

In my experience, a high percentage of Asian people are having difficulty obtaining quality special education services for their children with disabilities, largely due to special education terminology. English is my second language, so I know a little about their dilemma.

We live in a vastly diversified country with many subgroups, all with their own special vocabulary and idioms. I find it very difficult ot keep up with the languages of financial terminology, business jargon, the computer field, and other specialized areas. I sometimes feel overwhelmed myself by the language demands of the society.

When immigrants come to the United States, almost everyone makes the effort to learn or to improve their English. It is more difficult for adults to learn and become accustomed to a new language. There is always a high degree of self consciousness involved. Speech is hampered when we are aware that our accents obscure certain words, or when we drop crucial syllables, or round off words that need a delivery closer to spitting than talking. For these reasons, parents become frustrated and discouraged, often to the point of wanting to abandon their attempts to learn English, even though they may understand that proficiency in the majority language is important for their own welfare and that of their children. They may also adhere to their native language for emotional reasons and out of their desire to maintain their ethnic identity. They may consciously limit their contact with the English language.

I often hear Asian parents say "the more I learn Englsih, the harder it becomes." I think of this when I hear the national statistics on literacy, a pressing national concern, and I realize that the struggle to be English proficient is very widespread, even among native speakers.

Many Asian people who have settled in the United States come from highly educated, liberal, prosperous families, and possess qualities like those of the original Buddha - a quiet wisdom and a sense of what is essential in life. They are willing to give up many things to improve their children's lives, including their authority. Often, because their children have more of a command of the dominant language, adults will have their children take over roles that in their own country were theirs and theirs alone. They make this huge accommodation solely because they have such difficulty in adopting English and struggle to communicate with a limited vocabulary.

I have spent half of my life learning and studying English to maintain my fluency for the sake of my survival. I cannot count the times I have felt confident that my English was near perfect, only to feel frustration at the persistence of my own accent, or a sloughed off syllable.

It has been my passionate pursuit to learn English so that I can live my life fully - intellectually and socially. I believe the English language is a precious possession and that it open up the door to knowledge. By knowing how to use it effectively, we can communicate more clearly, listen more critically, and read more efficiently.

Despite the fact that English is a hard language to learn, many Asian parents are determined to do whatever they must to assist with their children's multiple needs. Beginning this fall, Parent to Parent Power will begin holding English classes to assist parents in learning special education terminology. We believe this will help Asian parents to have more power and self-confidence in advocating for their children.

Yvone Link is the director of Parent to Parent Power of Tacoma, Washington.

Mrs. Jong Fagan is a single Korean mother who receives daily services from Yvone Link. Mrs. Fagan explains, "I know I have a harder time living without my husband. I'm treated inhumanely because I don't understand all the paperwork that comes in the mail. I believe it's my fate that I need to care for our son either with or without my husband."

Mrs. Fagan is challenged by very basic needs related to language barriers, financial resources, providing 24-hour care for her son, and participating in educational decision-making with the school. She is not able to speak or read English, and she is very frustrated by having no concept of when she needs to respond to written requests from the school or to her mail. Facing these cultural and language barriers, it is understandable why Mrs. Fagan often describes that she feels {helpless and inferior."

Yvone Link, of Parent to Parent Power in Tacoma, Washington, provides daily support to Mrs. Fagan. Mrs. Fagan calls each morning and the conversation might last from 15 minutes to an hour and a half. Mrs. Link help Mrs. Fagan get organized for the day, making plans to care for her son and herself. During frequent face-to-face meetings, Mrs. Link reads Mrs. Fagan's mail to her, helps her write letters, including correspondence to her husband and to her son's school, teaches her English, and attends IEP meetings with her. Mrs. Link frequently receives requests from the school staff to provide services for Mrs. Fagan in her native Korean language.

Through Parent to Parent Power, Mrs. Fagan is empowering herself to get the best education she can for her son, and also to learn English. Yvone says that she "will never say no to helping her, " because she realizes how very much Mrs. Fagan needs support.